3 ms·

It's terrible philosophy — basically the philosophical outlook of assholes. Also rules like traffic laws certainly aren't "recommendations".

• paulcole 3y ago
  > Also rules like traffic laws certainly aren't "recommendations" The point is that recommendations are exactly what they are. The recommendation is "Drive no faster than 45mph on this road unless you want to risk getting a ticket (or killing someone or whatever)." But who's physically preventing you from driving 60mph? If you were taking your dying relative to the hospital would you drive 45mph? Perhaps a law of physics is involved and you are physically prevented from going over 45mph because of a governor on your engine, but you could pay someone to remove it (or do it yourself). Speedbumps may increase the danger and consequence of going 100mph and that is something of a physical limitation. You can think it's asshole philosophy (and perhaps it is), but you're not seeing the world the way it really is, which I think is heart of the matter. It's like the clip of the guy talking about the German who can't drive because they don't have a license: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3EBs7sCOzo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3EBs7sCOzo It's just a recommendation!
  • gnz11 3y ago
    By their very definitions, laws are not "recommendations". There's nothing deeper here. I can make this simpler using your examples: at the time, your school mate was an asshole for flooding the room and your brother was just a brat. Nothing more to it.
    • paulcole 3y ago
      But you're not saying what the difference is. Laws can be broken, so why are they different than a recommendation? I can tell you, "don't touch that hot pan" and it's a recommendation but you can still do it. The government can say "don't speed" and it's a recommendation but you can still do it.
      • l33tbro 3y ago
        This kind of thinking is how we arrive at a low-trust society. We could all be individuals indulging our inner-asshole, but it would quickly lead to the enshittification of what remains of communal life. The 'Recommendation' quote just sounds typical of the edgy posturing we've seen Musk fall into. Once the pithy zing fades, we have an idea scales poorly. There are a lot of dumb laws, but they are typically there to protect us and our fellow citizens from human beings (you and me) doing dumb shit. They are hardly recommendations. If anything, laws are the network protocol of society that allows us a semblance of reliability and stability in our operating environment.
        • paulcole 3y ago
          You can sit here and say how things should be all day long. But it doesn’t change how things really are. If you want to delude yourself for the alleged betterment of society, go nuts.
          • l33tbro 3y ago
            Laws and their obedience are a part of our social reality. To feign insouciance about the utility of laws (ala Musk) is a little daft.
            • paulcole 3y ago
              If those recommendations (laws) mattered so much wouldn’t there be serious consequence to the insouciance? Laws are just recommendations that some people see as more serious than others. If you’re willing to take the risk and accept the consequence, it’s your choice.
              • l33tbro 3y ago
                You really seem immovably hung up on this clunky 'recommendation' epigram. All the best mate.
• ActorNightly 3y ago
  There is a fine line between "gaining something at the expense of others" versus "gaining something because others didn't think they are allowed to".