[dspillett]

> but z e r o people were just sitting around and woke up a) in the public eye … who were maligned needlessly

Demonstrably false. There are a significant number of individual cases I could mention off the top of my head. If you want a whole bag of them to look at in one go, read up on the NOTW “name and shame” campaign which resulted in numerous entirely spurious accusations, and actual vigilante attacks as well as legal investigations. The court of public option can be a concern for all.

> b) were completely and entirely good people

On a slightly more facetious note: if anyone claims to be absolutely 100% totally good, someone somewhere will disagree :)

There is no objective definition of good that all will agree on, and even if there are none of us are perfect our entire lives.

[WendyTheWillow]

Yeah, the fact that you can’t realize your example still rounds to zero is kind of sad, honestly.

Nobody has been cancelled randomly, and I genuinely pity people who go through life fearful such a thing could happen to them.

[dspillett]

Having had something similar (though not as serious) happen to someone I know, I very much envy your bliss.

[WendyTheWillow]

The fact that even your personal anecdote isn't "as serious" kind of proves my point...

[dspillett]

I subbed my toe today. Didn't break it. Therefore nobody ever gets a broken toe?…

[WendyTheWillow]

What? Not related to this conversation at all.

[dspillett]

Same thing different words. Your point (it doesn't happen to many so no one needs to worry) is an appeal to infinity, much like how Douglas Adam's used an appeal to infinity for humour purposes to “prove” that the population of the universe is zero (and any people you may meet are just figments of a deranged imagination).

You: “It happens to a small number of people, there are many many more people than that, so it averages out to effectively zero, so no one needs to worry”

Me: “Toe stubbing only happened to a small number of people, there are many many more people than that, so it averages out to effectively zero, so no one needs to be careful about their feet”

HHGTTG: “the volume of the universe is infinite there must be an infinite number of worlds. But not all of them are populated; therefore only a finite number are. Any finite number divided by infinity is zero, therefore the average population of the Universe is zero, so the total population must be zero and any people you may meet are just figments of a deranged imagination”