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by troutwine 903 days ago
It is a wild claim. I think it's important to understand that LessWrong -- whatever it eventually became -- comes out of the SF Bay Area "Rationalist" community. Despite claims to generality, it's a narrow way of reasoning about the world with some odd outcomes. Personally, I think the notion of an "information hazard" is a fine story point in a Neal Stephenson story but taking the idea seriously enough to have nightmares about Roko's basilisk and to ban discussion of it[1] is pushing past the bounds of 'rationality' I think. That a chunk of the core LessWrong crowd went into Effective Altruism ends-justify-the-means think or into neo-reactionary circles -- to a less degree -- is also worth noting: despite claims with regard to general well-being both political ideologies are more than happy to cause mass suffering so long as the expected outcomes are good, eventually, maybe.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roko%27s_basilisk#Reactions
1 comments
theragra 902 days ago
This claim does not look so wild of you encounter people outside your usual educated and smart bubble. Just recently in the sauna a girl explained to me how salt is good to your soul. But not white chemical salt from the store. Only raw salt from under the ground, 10€ per small bottle. She does not sell it, just a victim herself.
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SlickNixon 902 days ago
Maybe she likes the way eating raw salt makes her feel.
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troutwine 902 days ago
No, the claim is still wild. Ignorance of chemistry in one person or woo-woo beliefs is not an indication for the article's general claims about humanity. You also do not know me or my social circle. There's a cynicism in your post that says maybe more about you than about the claim in the article, friend.
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theragra 897 days ago
I was not that cynical before, but I live in a town where any encounter outside my friends makes me grind my teeth. Taxi driver tells me how covid is fake and all (sic) doctors are there to kill you, not help you. Doctor tells me how I need to believe in god and I will be cured. My mum believes in all kind of stupid stuff: astrology, fake science and totally fake history.

Even my close friend speaks about cosmic energies and healthy sound vibrations that channel meridians (the only exception I have among my friends).

I can't handle this shit anymore and I am loosing faith in humanity.

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