You're looking at Less Wrong's discussion board. This includes all posts, including those that haven't been promoted to the front page yet. For more information, see About Less Wrong.

polymathwannabe comments on Instrumental Rationality Questions Thread - Less Wrong Discussion

6 Post author: AspiringRationalist 27 September 2015 09:22PM

You are viewing a comment permalink. View the original post to see all comments and the full post content.

Comments (51)

You are viewing a single comment's thread. Show more comments above.

Comment author: tut 08 October 2015 03:53:51PM 0 points [-]

Does it help if you just cut and file your nails really short?

Have you tried using nail polish instead of hot sauce?

Comment author: polymathwannabe 08 October 2015 05:13:58PM 0 points [-]

My teeth already keep them really short, actually shorter than is aesthetically advisable.

Nail polish is an interesting counter-incentive to putting my nails in my mouth, no so much for the taste, but for the toxicity. I may try that.

Comment author: Lumifer 08 October 2015 05:15:56PM 1 point [-]

I believe there is a transparent nail polish explicitly made to teach people not to bite their nails -- it tastes horrible, by design.

Comment author: tut 09 October 2015 07:26:27AM *  0 points [-]

The thing about filing is not that your nails are too long. For some people the trigger for biting their nails is that they notice a piece of a nail sticking up far enough to be bitten. If they file the nails as short as they bite them, but completely even, then that trigger never happens, so they stop biting their nails.

Pretty much substitute filing for biting, because that looks nicer and is easier to modulate into something that does make sense.