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> I do personally struggle with a system of objection/dismissal based on the "well, it's a dog-eats-world" mindset. I used to be perplexed by these responses o
by paloaltokid 6y ago
> I do personally struggle with a system of objection/dismissal based on the "well, it's a dog-eats-world" mindset.
I used to be perplexed by these responses on HN as well but they make a certain kind of sense. If you have really doubled down on science and evolution and take them to their logical extreme, Darwinism really does just reduce to "if I can eat you, I win."
It occurs to me that many posters on HN are very okay with this mindset because they are chasing big dreams in life. And if a few people get hurt while they're on their way to riches, so be it.
You see this sentiment all the time in various comment threads.
- Tiktaalik 6y agoThey're sociopaths. Probably rich white dudes too. Pretty easy to love the notion of a 'dog eat dog world' when you're born into being on the top and have never seen the other side.
- paloaltokid 6y ago> Probably rich white dudes too. Not necessarily. I've visited many different parts of the world and met many immigrants to this country. Race and affluence can compound these beliefs, but the drive to get ahead no matter the cost is very human and very universal. Being born in poverty is also not a guarantee that you will grow up to become an empathetic person either.
- jtr1 6y agoIt takes a pretty impoverished understanding of evolution to write off cooperation and symbiosis as strategies for passing on ones genes.
- paloaltokid 6y agoI'm not saying it's right, I'm just saying those are the conclusions many folks on this forum seem to have drawn.