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That's especially good with cute girls And because the girl's cute, she's sure to be honest! OK, so it's horrible to be so paranoid, but c'mon - you're truste

That's especially good with cute girls And because the girl's cute, she's sure to be honest! OK, so it's horrible to be so paranoid, but c'mon - you're trusted a stranger with a lot of money. Would you stop someone in the street, point to $500 lying on the street, ask them the same and expect them to still be there when you come back?

cjg 16y ago
The difference in liquidity and fungibility of cash and laptops means that people would behave differently in the two situations. Most people know what to do with $500. Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to.
- mootothemax 16y ago
  Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to I sincerely hope that most wouldn't want to :) When it comes to what to do with a stolen laptop though, c'mon, it's a laptop, it's not like you've left them with an audiophile's wet dream of a $500 amplifier tube.
  - btilly 16y ago
    You would be amazed at how many people don't know how to use a Linux laptop that has its screen locked and its disk encrypted.
    - mootothemax 16y ago
      I think you would be amazed at how many would still give it a try.
BrandonM 16y ago
> you're trusted a stranger with a lot of money "A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet." - Will Rogers The term stranger is a useful tool to prevent children from trusting shifty individuals. As an adult, calling people strangers seems to me to be a good way to live in fear and fail to meet interesting new people. Most people are basically good.
- anovaskulk 16y ago
  No, most people are not basically good, not really. It is an illusion of goodnes that they give off, due to their indifference, and their going with the flow. If the flow is good, the illusion is maintained, and all is well. But when push come to shove, they will show how little they really care.
  - Confusion 16y ago
    You're more pessimistic about people than their behavior in day-to-day reality warrants. We're not worried about intrinsic goodness, nor about goodness in extreme circumstances. We're only worried about effective goodness in normal circumstances. Can you ask someone to watch your stuff? Yes, you can. Whatever the reason, the vast majority of people can be trusted in the vast majority of circumstances. There are few that will simply let someone take your stuff when you ask them to watch it for you. when push come to shove Push doesn't come to shove. When someone threatens them, they may as well have threatened you. When there's a sudden flood, accident or any other unlikely incident, then you're often no worse off having someone else watch your stuff.
    - lutorm 16y ago
      I basically agree with you, but don't think you should worry about someone else coming and taking the laptop. It's the person you asked to watch it that knows you are gone, if anyone, it's they that would get up, take the laptop, and go. But I think that risk is fairly small if you pick the right person. Ideally someone else with a laptop. They're likely not going anywhere, and they clearly already have a laptop...
    - anovaskulk 16y ago
      I'm sorry, I did not mean to suggest otherwise. The illusion indeed is maintained in the vast majority of cases.
      - Confusion 16y ago
        Yes, but whether it is an illusion is irrelevant for the purposes of this discussion. And to wander off into more philosophical territory: if you say it is an illusion, you suggest that there is an intrinsic, below-the-veil-of-illusion, goodness in people. That warrants a huge discussion in itself. I would argue there is no such thing: what we are talking about here is 'the' goodness of people. There is no illusion. That they don't behave equally good in different circumstances is not because they are intrinsically less-than-good: it's because the exact same human characteristics simply give rise to different behavior in different circumstances. The motivation/inclination of people to behave in a certain way is not due intrinsic 'goodness', but due to a variety of other intrinsic characteristics, such as 'fearfulness'.
smallegan 16y ago
I am sure there is some correlation that can be made between cute girls and trustworthiness!
- snth 16y ago
  Yes, a negative correlation :)
btilly 16y ago
Actual experiment carried out in the 90s. Researchers left wallets on the street in various cities, with $100 each, and with sufficient ID to let someone mail it back. They got almost all of the wallets back, and the vast majority still had the $100. Many had notes along the lines of, "You're lucky I was the one who found this. Most people around here would have just taken the money." The lesson that I took from this is that most people can be assumed to be honest most of the time. The dishonest minority stands out. But yes, in the situation you describe I'd be willing to bet that the $500 would still be there when I came back.

cjg 16y ago

The difference in liquidity and fungibility of cash and laptops means that people would behave differently in the two situations. Most people know what to do with $500. Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to.

mootothemax 16y ago
Most wouldn't have a clue what to do with a stolen laptop, and wouldn't want to I sincerely hope that most wouldn't want to :) When it comes to what to do with a stolen laptop though, c'mon, it's a laptop, it's not like you've left them with an audiophile's wet dream of a $500 amplifier tube.
- btilly 16y ago
  You would be amazed at how many people don't know how to use a Linux laptop that has its screen locked and its disk encrypted.
  - mootothemax 16y ago
    I think you would be amazed at how many would still give it a try.

BrandonM 16y ago

> you're trusted a stranger with a lot of money "A stranger is just a friend I haven't met yet." - Will Rogers The term stranger is a useful tool to prevent children from trusting shifty individuals. As an adult, calling people strangers seems to me to be a good way to live in fear and fail to meet interesting new people. Most people are basically good.

anovaskulk 16y ago
No, most people are not basically good, not really. It is an illusion of goodnes that they give off, due to their indifference, and their going with the flow. If the flow is good, the illusion is maintained, and all is well. But when push come to shove, they will show how little they really care.
- Confusion 16y ago
  You're more pessimistic about people than their behavior in day-to-day reality warrants. We're not worried about intrinsic goodness, nor about goodness in extreme circumstances. We're only worried about effective goodness in normal circumstances. Can you ask someone to watch your stuff? Yes, you can. Whatever the reason, the vast majority of people can be trusted in the vast majority of circumstances. There are few that will simply let someone take your stuff when you ask them to watch it for you. when push come to shove Push doesn't come to shove. When someone threatens them, they may as well have threatened you. When there's a sudden flood, accident or any other unlikely incident, then you're often no worse off having someone else watch your stuff.
  - lutorm 16y ago
    I basically agree with you, but don't think you should worry about someone else coming and taking the laptop. It's the person you asked to watch it that knows you are gone, if anyone, it's they that would get up, take the laptop, and go. But I think that risk is fairly small if you pick the right person. Ideally someone else with a laptop. They're likely not going anywhere, and they clearly already have a laptop...
  - anovaskulk 16y ago
    I'm sorry, I did not mean to suggest otherwise. The illusion indeed is maintained in the vast majority of cases.
    - Confusion 16y ago
      Yes, but whether it is an illusion is irrelevant for the purposes of this discussion. And to wander off into more philosophical territory: if you say it is an illusion, you suggest that there is an intrinsic, below-the-veil-of-illusion, goodness in people. That warrants a huge discussion in itself. I would argue there is no such thing: what we are talking about here is 'the' goodness of people. There is no illusion. That they don't behave equally good in different circumstances is not because they are intrinsically less-than-good: it's because the exact same human characteristics simply give rise to different behavior in different circumstances. The motivation/inclination of people to behave in a certain way is not due intrinsic 'goodness', but due to a variety of other intrinsic characteristics, such as 'fearfulness'.

smallegan 16y ago

I am sure there is some correlation that can be made between cute girls and trustworthiness!

snth 16y ago
Yes, a negative correlation :)

btilly 16y ago

Actual experiment carried out in the 90s. Researchers left wallets on the street in various cities, with $100 each, and with sufficient ID to let someone mail it back. They got almost all of the wallets back, and the vast majority still had the $100. Many had notes along the lines of, "You're lucky I was the one who found this. Most people around here would have just taken the money." The lesson that I took from this is that most people can be assumed to be honest most of the time. The dishonest minority stands out. But yes, in the situation you describe I'd be willing to bet that the $500 would still be there when I came back.