3 ms·
I think looking at the examples and their rating of toxicity, there's a difference between a Semmelweis who says, "I think you're killing people with establishe
by projektfu 3y ago
I think looking at the examples and their rating of toxicity, there's a difference between a Semmelweis who says, "I think you're killing people with established practice" and a theoretical one who says, "You [expletive] [ethnic slur] ... should be shot like a dog in the street."
- nomilk 3y agoThe point is Semmelweis, whose information saved huge numbers of human lives, would be lumped in the same category (“toxic”) as your theoretical example, on account of Sammelweis being considered rude and disrespectful. In simplest terms, ideas that threaten orthodoxy can be considered rude and disrespectful, and thus “toxic”. So perhaps the definition of toxic needs more refinement, or toxicity isn't the right thing to be looking at, despite it sounding about right in everyday conversation.