All of BrianLloyd's Comments + Replies

Is it really a gunshot? Do you assume that the gunshot was at a person rather than a bear or mountain lion? (I don't know where you are but "deserted" implies no people so an animal or an inanimate object is a more likely target.)

But let's assume I am in an urban setting, the sound really is a gunshot, and your presumption that an innocent has been shot by an assailant with generally evil intent, e.g. the assailant is likely shoot me too if I appear, is correct. (OK, I am making a LOT of assumptions here.) In that case, the right answer is quite... (read more)

3Raemon
Yeah. This is more or less what I've come to realize. The story I was working on was originally prompted by an analogy about the weird psychological quirks that afflicted me when I was trying to decide where to donate money. I felt a compulsion to donate to a less efficient charity because it's cause was "almost done," and I wanted to finish it off and get a satisfying "Ding! Achievement" feeling. This prompted someone to say "that's like ignoring evidence that someone's dying of a gunshot wound, so that you can finish throwing the last few starfish back into the ocean." Which I then felt compelled to try and turn into a rationalist fan-parable. A lot of pieces of it seem worthwhile, but the work is buckling and straining over the ridiculousness of a young girl and old man trying to do anything about a nearby gunshot. The gunshot itself isn't all that important to the story, but I need something that: a) is obviously more important than a few starfish b) time sensitive c) is plausibly addressable by a young girl and old man d) the evidence for said bad thing that needs addressing is uncertain.

Until Y'all degenerates into the singular and then you need a plural for the plural, i.e. "all y'all." Don't believe me? Go to Texas. ;-)

Hello; my name is Brian. It is with some trepidation that I post here because I am not entirely sure how or where I can contribute. On the other hand, if I knew how I could contribute then I probably wouldn't need to post here.

I seem to be a bit older than most people whose introductions I have read here. I am 58. I have spent most of my life as a software engineer, electrical engineer, technical writer, businessman, teacher, sailor, and pilot. (When I was young Robert A. Heinlein advised against specialization, an admonition I took to heart.)

My most rece... (read more)

0A1987dM
You guys. (Unlike the singular, ISTM that the plural guys doesn't always imply ‘males’.)
4OrphanWilde
Y'all! There's an added bonus in that it annoys linguistic purists.

Except when when the great change requires a leap of understanding. Regardless of how diligently she works, the person who is blind in a particular area will never make the necessary transcendental leap that creates new understanding.

I have experienced this, working in a room full of brilliant people for a period of months. It took the transcendental leap of understanding by someone outside the group to present the elegantly-simple solution to the apparently intractable problem.

So, while many problems will fall to persistence and diligence, some problems ... (read more)