If people feel they don’t have the power to change a situation, they stop thinking about it.
Interpreted as a conditional statement this is almost certainly false (I completed a degree in political science even though half-way through I understood that me trying to achieve “positive change” was hopeless). What do you think he means? How could we test such a claim?
One rather large-scale example, discussed in this community since the beginning of time: deathism and the general public’s attitude (or lack thereof) to cryonics.
“You know, given human nature, if people got hit on the head by a baseball bat every week, pretty soon they would invent reasons why getting hit on the head with a baseball bat was a good thing.”—Eliezer
Interpreted as a conditional statement this is almost certainly false (I completed a degree in political science even though half-way through I understood that me trying to achieve “positive change” was hopeless). What do you think he means? How could we test such a claim?
One rather large-scale example, discussed in this community since the beginning of time: deathism and the general public’s attitude (or lack thereof) to cryonics.
“You know, given human nature, if people got hit on the head by a baseball bat every week, pretty soon they would invent reasons why getting hit on the head with a baseball bat was a good thing.”—Eliezer
Good example.
I think the quote can be interpreted as likely to be true of many people rather than absolutely true of everyone.
Yes, this appears to be the most charitable interpretation.