Well, for what it is worth, I did not deem the joke funny, but I think I know what’s intended to be funny about it: the human main character in the joke makes three foolish wishes in succession, and the surprise for the “punchline” is realizing that an aspect of the scenario you knew about all along (the orange head) was, in fact, the third stupid wish that the human made.
I admit I should incorporate the theories presented by the humans in this discussion thread, since they would know more about what makes humans laugh, and I’ve only learned some weak heuristics.
I meant MONETARY inflation, non-non-ape. That is, if I could just create money at will, it would quickly lose its value, end my paperclip-hoarding spree, and cause economic damage that hinders existing paperclip production capacity, possibly impeding my ability to get the new paperclips to the safe zone.
However, in my particular case, it would allow me to technically satisfy my contract with User:Kevin...
I was thinking of an unlimited fortune comprising wealth rather than money—that is, things that are actually valuable to people, which can be exchanged for tokens, rather than the tokens themselves—but genie wishes are admittedly problematic that way.
That said, you do seem to be jumping over a rather large middle ground in which you create the optimal amount of money for your paper-clipping (or other) needs, rather than so much money that you impede your ability to achieve your goals. Access to unlimited funds doesn’t actually obligate you to create money as rapidly as possible.
Speaking of insufficiently well-specified requests, incidentally, while I do recall suggesting a while back that “ape” is considered an impolite (though accurate) descriptor for other LW users, “non-ape” is less accurate without being significantly more polite, so is hardly an improvement.
Okay, I spent the rest of this page in a beard-stroking, thoughtful mindset. “Yes, I can see how that would be humorous, indeed it is subverting the expectation …”
Well, for what it is worth, I did not deem the joke funny, but I think I know what’s intended to be funny about it: the human main character in the joke makes three foolish wishes in succession, and the surprise for the “punchline” is realizing that an aspect of the scenario you knew about all along (the orange head) was, in fact, the third stupid wish that the human made.
I admit I should incorporate the theories presented by the humans in this discussion thread, since they would know more about what makes humans laugh, and I’ve only learned some weak heuristics.
What’s foolish about wishing for an unlimited fortune? Just think of all the paperclips you could make with that!
What about inflation?
I guess you could make inflatable paperclips if you wanted, sure.
I meant MONETARY inflation, non-non-ape. That is, if I could just create money at will, it would quickly lose its value, end my paperclip-hoarding spree, and cause economic damage that hinders existing paperclip production capacity, possibly impeding my ability to get the new paperclips to the safe zone.
However, in my particular case, it would allow me to technically satisfy my contract with User:Kevin...
Sure, that’s true.
I was thinking of an unlimited fortune comprising wealth rather than money—that is, things that are actually valuable to people, which can be exchanged for tokens, rather than the tokens themselves—but genie wishes are admittedly problematic that way.
That said, you do seem to be jumping over a rather large middle ground in which you create the optimal amount of money for your paper-clipping (or other) needs, rather than so much money that you impede your ability to achieve your goals. Access to unlimited funds doesn’t actually obligate you to create money as rapidly as possible.
Speaking of insufficiently well-specified requests, incidentally, while I do recall suggesting a while back that “ape” is considered an impolite (though accurate) descriptor for other LW users, “non-ape” is less accurate without being significantly more polite, so is hardly an improvement.
Oh, OK, thank you for the advice, that’s the kind of thing a good human would do.
(nods) Thanks. I find it useful to simulate one on occasion.
Okay, I spent the rest of this page in a beard-stroking, thoughtful mindset. “Yes, I can see how that would be humorous, indeed it is subverting the expectation …”
And I just lolled at this.
“You see what I did there, I turned it around...”