Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by throwawaysleep 766 days ago
I wrote an earlier reply to someone about how all I learned from the several mandatory ethics courses is that the people who cheat tend to be winners even after their punishment, if any.

I bet that even after all this, that kid will still be better off having cheated than not.
3 comments
capybara_2020 766 days ago
I am curious, what is the definition of winners here? Do they make more money or do they invent more successful products/ideas or is it something else?
link
throwawaysleep 766 days ago
Money, social acceptance, access to desirable partners, positions of prestige, etc. All the nice things we wrestle over in life.

Anything you compete for except the “he was a good man” phrasing in obituaries, the cheaters usually get to have. Even if caught.

Not cheating outside of a few really heinous crimes such as murder (killing your science fair opponent wouldn’t be a winning strategy if caught) is an altruistic action.

link
JKCalhoun 765 days ago
> Not cheating outside of a few really heinous crimes such as murder (killing your science fair opponent wouldn’t be a winning strategy if caught) is an altruistic action.

I can only imagine someone trying to justify cheating would say that.

Cheating on your spouse is okay? Not cheating on your spouse altruistic? That concept is alien to me. I don't understand someone having no self-respect or being completely numb to how others feel. I know some exist, but I can't comprehend.

If there's "winning" in life it's through living a good and happy life. Some time past our teenage years I think all but the most self-adsorbed people realize that being kind and respectful to others also contributes to our own happiness.

link
rendall 766 days ago
> Not cheating... is an altruistic action.

Wow that's dark.

link
fattegourmet 766 days ago
I had an ethics (philosophy) course in uni and I don't think _ethos_ is about winning.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethos

link
throwawaysleep 766 days ago
It isn't. But that is what makes it irrelevant to the target audience.
link
hilux 766 days ago
Indeed - last I checked, Kaavya Viswanathan was doing just fine. Even had a stint at white-shoe law firm.
link