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James_Miller comments on Open thread, Apr. 01 - Apr. 05, 2015 - Less Wrong Discussion
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My dentist causes me pain, so why don't I hate him? The rational part of my brain certainly has no reason to hate him, but the emotional, caveman part does. My model of myself would predict that my emotional brain would generate feelings of dislike for my dentist that my rational part would suppress, yet there is nothing to suppress. Do other people respond this way as well? If so, what's the cause?
You should give more credit to the emotional part of your brain :) It's not that stupid. There's a little extra something in-between the pain and the person causing it, that triggers the reaction of hatred against the person -- probably the expectation of hostile intentions. It's likely not a simple two-item person+pain=hatred association arc; even our emotional selves know this.
Further evidence for this: people often become good friends with sparring partners in combat sports.
-- Oliver W. Holmes
Dogs have been specifically bred for many thousands of years to respond to human signals.
(So have humans.)
I don't hate my dentist either, but I do put off seeing him.
I think that's because you have control -- you choose yourself whether to go to the dentist or not (and you can stop and leave at any time), so the dentist is seen as an NPC and not as an independent agent.
Interesting, since I have unwanted anger towards my computer when it causes me bother, I should try to think of my computer as an NPC.
Aren't you aware that it's a cliche that people do hate their dentists?
(Not that I recall anyone in particular claiming to hate their dentist.)
Would you allow someone you hate to take a drill to your teeth? It's needs a lot of trust. The fact that you go into a situation where you have to trust very strongly leaves little room for hating the dentist.
Yes if my emotional brain hated everyone, including my dentist, who caused me pain.
But you say it doesn't do that. So I am not clear what your point is.
I was asked the question "Would you allow someone you hate to take a drill to your teeth?" My answer is that I can imagine under certain circumstances.
One can imagine almost anything under certain circumstances.
The obvious answer is that you want him to do the work that is required on your teeth, and the pain is merely a necessary discomfort that is worth enduring.
You have observed that your model is faulty. You should therefore update it. What is the problem?
I do not.
What's your dentist's emotional style like?
No idea, plus I've had three dentists in the last decade. The first one die, and the second one retired.
I was thinking that if your dentist gives the impression that he's competent and careful, you're more likely to not blame him for causing you pain.