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balamatomtoday at 4:24 PM3 repliesview on HN

OK, I'll bite the artillery shell: I don't mean to dismiss you or what you are saying; in fact I strongly relate - wouldn't it be nice to be able to hash things out with people and mutually benefit from both the shared and the diverging perspectives implied in such interaction? Isn't that the most natural thing in the world?

Unfortunately these days this sounds halfway between a very privileged perspective and a pie in the sky.

When was the last time a person took responsibility for the bad outcome you got as a direct consequence of following their advice?

And, relatedly, where the hell do you even find humans who believe in discursive truth-seeking in 2026CE?

Because for the last 15 years or so I've only ever ran into (a) the kind of people who will keep arguing regardless if what they're saying is proven wrong; (b) and their complementaries, those who will never think about what you are saying, lest they commit to saying anything definite themselves, which may hypothetically be proven wrong.

Thing is, both types of people have plenty to lose; the magic wordball doesn't. (The previous sentence is my answer to the question you posited; and why I feel the present parenthesized disclaimer to be necessary, is a whole next can of worms...)

Signs of the existence of other kinds of people, perhaps such that have nothing to prove, are not unheard of.

But those people reside in some other layer of the social superstructure, where facts matter much less than adherence to "humane", "rational" not-even-dogmas (I'd rather liken it to complex conditioning).

But those folks (because reasons) are in a position of power over your well-being - and (because unfathomables) it's a definite faux pas to insist in their presence that there are such things as facts, which relate by the principles of verbal reasoning.

Best you could get out of them is the "you do you", "if you know you know", that sort of bubble-bobble - and don't you dare get even mildly miffed at such treatment of your natural desire to keep other humans in the loop.

AI is a symptom.


Replies

nuancebydefaulttoday at 7:14 PM

Why is your wording so complicated? It is very hard for me to understand what you try to say, even though I am very interested.

rustystumptoday at 6:32 PM

I genuinely do not understand what u are saying. Because reasons, because unfathomables? Everyone in last 15 years has been an npc? I have had countless deep conversations with people and i am an uber introvert.

This reads like someone who is deep into their specific pov. You cannot hope to have a meaningful conversation if you yourself are not willing to concede a point.

To the op u are replying too, arguing with people can have real consequences if u say something stupid or carelessly. There is a another human there. With a machine, u are safe. At least u feel safe.

hluskatoday at 4:38 PM

When you start hearing things like “you do you” or “if you know you know” it means that you went way too far. That’s a sign of discomfort.

If you make uncomfortable, you won’t get diverging perspectives. People will agree to anything to get out of a social situation that makes them uncomfortable.

If your goal is meaningful conversation, you may want to consider how you make people feel.

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