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If a real and thorny problem seems to have a trivial answer.. there's a good chance the trivial answer is incorrect. Amazon has a system like this, where you c

If a real and thorny problem seems to have a trivial answer.. there's a good chance the trivial answer is incorrect. Amazon has a system like this, where you can "claim" listings. It's how scam products get all those five star reviews for some other profuct. They find a t-shirt or some little thing doing well and file claim after claim until they win the listing.

curiousllama 4y ago
Yea, this is the answer. If it’s easy to file a complaint, scammers will just file a million complaints to (wrongly) win 1%, and walk away with the $
- nico 4y ago
  Well, even if it’s hard… look at accident attorneys in the US. They might not technically be scammers, but man does it feel close to it.
ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago
> If a real and thorny problem seems to have a trivial answer.. there's a good chance the trivial answer is incorrect. Two of my favorite H. L. Mencken quotes: "There's always an easy solution to every human problem; Neat, plausible and wrong." "The fact that I have no remedy for all the sorrows of the world is no reason for my accepting yours. It simply supports the strong probability that yours is a fake." And this one: "Any proposal must be viewed as follows. Do not pay overly much attention to the benefits that might be delivered were the law in question to be properly enforced, rather one needs to consider the harm done by the improper enforcement of this particular piece of legislation, whatever it might be." -Lyndon B. Johnson
- prottog 4y ago
  Ironic, coming from LBJ.
  - pfisherman 4y ago
    Why ironic? Honest question. I do not know enough about the career of LBJ to get it. My understanding is that he was an extremely effective legislator. A bit of a bastard, but very effective.
    - prottog 4y ago
      Some of the legislation he pushed through, mostly in the Great Society program, could be poster children for "the harm done by the improper enforcement of this particular piece of legislation".
- justin_oaks 4y ago
  Law makers seem to universally ignore the unintended consequences of the laws they propose or endorse. I wish there were a requirement to list all the foreseeable consequences of any law that's proposed, both positive consequences and negative ones.
  - themitigating 4y ago
    "all the foreseeable consequences" If this was feasible why wouldn't you do this for every decision in life.
    - justin_oaks 4y ago
      For major life decisions, I do. Don't you? Public policy affects millions of lives. I don't think enumerating 1st order or 2nd order effects is too onerous. And if it is, that's why government officials have assistants and interns.
  - thejohnconway 4y ago
    > I wish there were a requirement to list all the foreseeable consequences of any law that's proposed, both positive consequences and negative ones. Please enumerate all the positive and negative consequences of your requirement!

curiousllama 4y ago

Yea, this is the answer. If it’s easy to file a complaint, scammers will just file a million complaints to (wrongly) win 1%, and walk away with the $

nico 4y ago
Well, even if it’s hard… look at accident attorneys in the US. They might not technically be scammers, but man does it feel close to it.

ChrisMarshallNY 4y ago

> If a real and thorny problem seems to have a trivial answer.. there's a good chance the trivial answer is incorrect. Two of my favorite H. L. Mencken quotes: "There's always an easy solution to every human problem; Neat, plausible and wrong." "The fact that I have no remedy for all the sorrows of the world is no reason for my accepting yours. It simply supports the strong probability that yours is a fake." And this one: "Any proposal must be viewed as follows. Do not pay overly much attention to the benefits that might be delivered were the law in question to be properly enforced, rather one needs to consider the harm done by the improper enforcement of this particular piece of legislation, whatever it might be." -Lyndon B. Johnson

prottog 4y ago
Ironic, coming from LBJ.
- pfisherman 4y ago
  Why ironic? Honest question. I do not know enough about the career of LBJ to get it. My understanding is that he was an extremely effective legislator. A bit of a bastard, but very effective.
  - prottog 4y ago
    Some of the legislation he pushed through, mostly in the Great Society program, could be poster children for "the harm done by the improper enforcement of this particular piece of legislation".
justin_oaks 4y ago
Law makers seem to universally ignore the unintended consequences of the laws they propose or endorse. I wish there were a requirement to list all the foreseeable consequences of any law that's proposed, both positive consequences and negative ones.
- themitigating 4y ago
  "all the foreseeable consequences" If this was feasible why wouldn't you do this for every decision in life.
  - justin_oaks 4y ago
    For major life decisions, I do. Don't you? Public policy affects millions of lives. I don't think enumerating 1st order or 2nd order effects is too onerous. And if it is, that's why government officials have assistants and interns.
- thejohnconway 4y ago
  > I wish there were a requirement to list all the foreseeable consequences of any law that's proposed, both positive consequences and negative ones. Please enumerate all the positive and negative consequences of your requirement!