3 ms·

These threads seem to invite lots of comments of the form "[I|someone I know of|both] [am|is|are] smarter than PG for xyz reasons". These can be interesting to

These threads seem to invite lots of comments of the form "[I|someone I know of|both] [am|is|are] smarter than PG for xyz reasons". These can be interesting to read if you want to get into the nitty gritty. But they don't often seem to engage with the overall point. In this case, I think that point is that there are probably local truths and universal truths, and wouldn't it be neat to focus on the universal ones, or figure out which ones are only locally true, and why? But who knows, that's just my interpretation.

sillysaurusx 4y ago
Agreed. One of pg’s examples was “If there are aliens, they’d probably discover that a stool with three legs is the most stable.” I’m surprised he didn’t include it in this essay.
- asdff 4y ago
  What was the reason a three legged stool is the best? Doesn't that depend on your environment? E.g. the amount of gravity, perhaps wind, or the quality of materials available to construct a stool?
  - webstrand 4y ago
    Three points make a plane, a fourth point is redundant. Three equidistant stool legs are stable on any surface regardless of flatness, but four equidistant stool legs need to be aligned correctly with a non-flat surface to be stable.
    - asdff 4y ago
      If you live on a world where your wood is more like laffy taffy or whatever, maybe the stool buckles when it only has three legs.
      - IIAOPSW 4y ago
        If you're an oompa loompa living in Willie Wonka's world where there's no such thing as rigid construction and everything is candy, the ability to have any level of technological civilization (including stool building) is dubious.
- robocat 4y ago
  > a stool with three legs is the most stable I don’t think stable is the right word. A stool with three legs is less wobbly on an uneven surface. A high stool with three legs is less stable to horizontal forces (forces towards the gap between legs). I would say a tall stool with four legs is more stable (assuming the outer diameter of the footprint of the feet remains the same.) It is the same reason three-wheeled cars are less stable than four wheeled cars. If you want a stable seat on an uneven surface, you use a one legged stool (your legs make the other two adjustable legs). Finally, the concept of a stool depends on two-legs and various other human specific environmental details. Aliens might not understand our stool analysis at all.

sillysaurusx 4y ago

Agreed. One of pg’s examples was “If there are aliens, they’d probably discover that a stool with three legs is the most stable.” I’m surprised he didn’t include it in this essay.

asdff 4y ago
What was the reason a three legged stool is the best? Doesn't that depend on your environment? E.g. the amount of gravity, perhaps wind, or the quality of materials available to construct a stool?
- webstrand 4y ago
  Three points make a plane, a fourth point is redundant. Three equidistant stool legs are stable on any surface regardless of flatness, but four equidistant stool legs need to be aligned correctly with a non-flat surface to be stable.
  - asdff 4y ago
    If you live on a world where your wood is more like laffy taffy or whatever, maybe the stool buckles when it only has three legs.
    - IIAOPSW 4y ago
      If you're an oompa loompa living in Willie Wonka's world where there's no such thing as rigid construction and everything is candy, the ability to have any level of technological civilization (including stool building) is dubious.
robocat 4y ago
> a stool with three legs is the most stable I don’t think stable is the right word. A stool with three legs is less wobbly on an uneven surface. A high stool with three legs is less stable to horizontal forces (forces towards the gap between legs). I would say a tall stool with four legs is more stable (assuming the outer diameter of the footprint of the feet remains the same.) It is the same reason three-wheeled cars are less stable than four wheeled cars. If you want a stable seat on an uneven surface, you use a one legged stool (your legs make the other two adjustable legs). Finally, the concept of a stool depends on two-legs and various other human specific environmental details. Aliens might not understand our stool analysis at all.