Well, thanks for the link, in any case. My reading comprehension and analytic skills aren't completely undeveloped, and while I've been known to fall for brief periods for clever sounding schemes*, I'm generally skeptical enough to read between the lines.

I think I have to admit I don't actually know what Popper has to say on the matter. Though, I get the impression these two authors might agree, at least broadly, and are simply viewing the same problem through different lenses.

He wasn't the first, but he was the first to really coin the term that stuck. It's hard to read, if for no other reason than it's philosophy and my eyes tend to glaze over.

That is, resolving the paradox might be interesting to someone if paradoxes bother them

Yeah, I think it's a paradox only to absolutists, and I distrust absolutists. There are physical laws of nature that are absolute, and even then we find exceptions; but trying to hold to philosophical absolutes leads to people like Ayn Rand, and Libertarians. So, to paraphrase possibly the best scene in any movie ever, "the code is more what you call guidelines, than actual rules".

I once thought flat tax was a great idea, believing it'd get us closer to European-style "finally I don't have to sorry about this shit for two while months every year" taxes; before a friend pointed out the disproportionate impact a flat tax has on different economic stratuses. Stratusi? Whatever.

[–] petrol_sniff_king@lemmy.blahaj.zone 2 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'm generally skeptical enough to read between the lines.

Haha, honestly, some of that was just me putting down thoughts I had while looking for some kind of supportive argument.

Yeah, I think it's a paradox only to absolutists

I mean, it is called a paradox, haha.

I like the idea of resolving it, but that's only because I like math. I imagine both could be rhetorically useful.

If you're talking to someone with a strong belief in fairness, telling them about social contracts seems useful. It reminds me, actually, of the best prisoner's dilemma strategy: cooperation, retaliation, and forgiveness.

If, however, you're talking to someone who likes splitting the Earth, the punk rock energy of telling god to go fuck himself, and rotating 4D objects in their mind for a laugh, telling them they can just accept the paradox as-is and invoke it on purpose seems just as well.

leads to people like Ayn Rand

Oh, speaking of Ayn Rand, have you read this? I love this.

[–] sxan@midwest.social 2 points 4 months ago

Oh, yeah; that's a good one. I've read sci-fi books that are almost this, but less obvious about it; Libertarian wet dreams. I mean, fair enough, there's plenty of communist fiction. But sometimes it gets a bit absurd.

One of my favorite all-time sci-fi trilogies is The Golden Age trilogy by John C. Wright. And it's a sort of libertarian fantasy: übermensch against the forces of evil (which aren't socialists; it's not that kind of libertarian fantasy) who triumphs mainly by force of sheer will. Great books, and I think the ending is about the best I could imagine, because it inverts the entire libertarian message. The libertarian ideal society exists because The Gods allow it to. It's kind of like Anarchy Park in whichever Larry Niven book that was: anything goes, except violation of other's freedom, all enforced by all-mighty AI cops. It's such a funny caveat.

Incidentally, I didn't know about that Prisoners Dilemma strategy; thanks! I learned something new today.