I’m surprised about the last one. I think it would be quite helpful if you could be prepared for that.
The other two are experiences you wouldn’t like to have. If you had the indexical knowledge of what the catchiest jingle was, you could better avoid hearing it.
I have to admit there’s information I shield myself from as well.
I don’t like watching real people die on video. I worry about getting desensitized/dehumanized.
I don’t want to see 2g1c either. (by extension, most of the grungier parts of the intertubes.)
I don’t want to know (from experience) what heroin feels like.
I do know people who believe in total desensitization—they think that the reflex to shudder or gag is something you have to burn out of yourself. I don’t think I want that for myself, though.
I don’t want to see 2g1c either. (by extension, most of the grungier parts of the intertubes.)
You know, those shock videos are not as bad as they look. 2g1c is usually thought to be something in the line of chocolate; and the infamous Tubgirl is known to be just orange juice.
(Which makes sense; eating feces is a good way to get sick.)
If you tell me the wild boar
Has twenty teeth, I’ll say, “Why sure.”
Or say that he has thirty three,
That number is quite all right with me
Or scream that he has ninety-nine
I’ll never say that you are lyin’,
For the number of teeth
In a wild boar’s mouth
Is a subject I’m glad
I know nothing about.
The quote in Eliezer’s site stating that “That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.” sounded to me too strong a claim from the very first time I read it. Many people cultivate falsehoods or use blinkers that are absolutely necessary to the preservation of their sanity (sic), and removing them could terribly jeopardize their adaptability to the environment. It could literally kill them.
I suppose this translates to things you already know, but don’t want to consciously attend to. For instance, I feel compelled by the Essendon Football Club’s slogan: ]
‘Stand as One—One Team. One Dream. Click here or call 1300 GO BOMBERS to become a member and be part of the Bombers team today.Exclusive to essendonfc.com.au’.
While I am tempted to mull of it for a while to dissect it’s secrets, I am unlikely, from experience, to get anything meaningful from the experience that I could apply to increase any consequential skill set. Therefore, I’ll attend to some other thought associated with my immediate environmental stimuli.
I think this is a worthwhile discussion.
Here are some “true things” I don’t want to know about:
the most catchy commercial jingle in the universe
what 2g1c looks like. I managed to avoid it thus far
the day I am going to die
I’m surprised about the last one. I think it would be quite helpful if you could be prepared for that.
The other two are experiences you wouldn’t like to have. If you had the indexical knowledge of what the catchiest jingle was, you could better avoid hearing it.
That’s a big if ;)
I am not.
I have to admit there’s information I shield myself from as well.
I don’t like watching real people die on video. I worry about getting desensitized/dehumanized.
I don’t want to see 2g1c either. (by extension, most of the grungier parts of the intertubes.)
I don’t want to know (from experience) what heroin feels like.
I do know people who believe in total desensitization—they think that the reflex to shudder or gag is something you have to burn out of yourself. I don’t think I want that for myself, though.
You know, those shock videos are not as bad as they look. 2g1c is usually thought to be something in the line of chocolate; and the infamous Tubgirl is known to be just orange juice.
(Which makes sense; eating feces is a good way to get sick.)
-- Shel Silverstein
It’s not obvious that knowing more always makes us better off — because the landscape of rationality is not smooth.
The quote in Eliezer’s site stating that “That which can be destroyed by the truth should be.” sounded to me too strong a claim from the very first time I read it. Many people cultivate falsehoods or use blinkers that are absolutely necessary to the preservation of their sanity (sic), and removing them could terribly jeopardize their adaptability to the environment. It could literally kill them.
I suppose this translates to things you already know, but don’t want to consciously attend to. For instance, I feel compelled by the Essendon Football Club’s slogan: ]
While I am tempted to mull of it for a while to dissect it’s secrets, I am unlikely, from experience, to get anything meaningful from the experience that I could apply to increase any consequential skill set. Therefore, I’ll attend to some other thought associated with my immediate environmental stimuli.