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Showerthoughts @lemmy.world

rainrain @sh.itjust.works

2w ago

Assuming a button that makes you smarter, the only smart move is to press it.

49 comments

Sir, can I introduce you to depression?
- I thought ignorance was supposed to be blissful 🥲
  
  Knowledge is a separate thing from intelligence. Even the smartest person in the world is ignorant of tons of stuff because it hasn't come up in their life yet.
  Intelligence can make it easier to collect knowledge, or to better understand it, but they are separate things.
- Sir, this is The Andes

Oops!

Until you do and wish you hadn't.

There is a non-zero chance that if you press it, you become smarter enough to realize you shouldn't have pressed it...
- Actually a lot of chance if you're the only one pushing it

I thought the only smart move was to not play?
Oh, wait, that's Global Thermonuclear War.
- And blackjack
  
  And stock options.
  
  and hookers!

Ignorance is bliss
Intelligence begets depression.
- The correlation is weak and there's no causation. If anyone reading this is depressed, please talk to someone! Feeling better won't mean you're dumber.
  
  Yes, of course. It's a heavily generalized statement.
- Oh bullshit
  
  Well, I've never seen a depressed brick

It's a real shame then that I'm a complete idiot.

Would rather have a charm button

I'm smart enough to ask questions about the button before I press it.

Replace button with book and press with read and yup.
- Reading is overrated.
  
  Plus, you can't trust books... with all those words....
  
  Sounds like you better get busy on building that ensmartering button then, because exposure to knowledge through books and other educational media is the only way I know of to become smarter. I suppose healthy living facilitates the process greatly, as well.

Step into Cthulu's trap.
Only good things can happen.
- Speaking of cthulu. You ever read a colder war by Charles Strauss? It's got Cthulhu in it and he talks about how awful he is. Like what he does is he murders you from like 100 miles away and psychically copies your soul into his personal universe where he tortures you forever in every possible way

The smarter you are the less happy you are. Fuck that button.
- Bullshit
  
  If you say so.

ignorance is bliss
- Ignorance is being trapped in a maze. Intelligence is flying above the walls of the maze
  
  i wish my understanding of how fucked we really are gave me flying superpowers.
  
  ignorance is not knowing how you are trapped.

The catch is, you lose empathy the smarter you become.
You've just become Hitler 2.0
- Why wouldn't the button increase emotional intelligence as well? Losing empathy as you learn more doesn't sound smart to me.

49 comments