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No one's that purely altruistic. It's like people who eat hot chilis and claim it's for food testing or quality control purposes. At some point, you've gotta c

No one's that purely altruistic. It's like people who eat hot chilis and claim it's for food testing or quality control purposes. At some point, you've gotta come to grips with the fact that you like getting bit by snakes. Edit: Sorry, I really did mean that to be funny. I don't care what his motivations are for letting himself get bitten so many times. Whatever the root cause, it looks like we might benefit tremendously from it, and for that, I'm sincerely grateful to him.

zahlman 2y ago
I don't know that "likes getting bit" explains it. Perhaps, for example, it's a matter of feeling pride for surviving.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  I don't know, either. Maybe it'd be my favorite thing ever, but I hope I never find out. But get bit by one snake, you're unlucky. Get bit by 5 snakes, it's an occupational hazard. Get bit by 100 snakes, I think there's something else going on.
toomuchtodo 2y ago
> No one's that purely altruistic. "James Harrison, a prolific Australian blood donor famed for having saved the lives of more than two million babies, has died at age 88." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(blood_donor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(blood_donor) https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/health/james-harrison-blood-donor-death-scli-intl/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/health/james-harrison-blood-d...
- sidewndr46 2y ago
  It seems he likely appreciate the indirect fame it brought him, but it is actually personal sacrifice on his part. I commend his efforts.
  - Pet_Ant 2y ago
    I think if you really get down to it, there are only three motivations for people to do things: 1) they benefit from it somehow, even if it just flatters their sense of justice 2) they did it unquestioningly because someone told them to, it didn't occur to them that they even had a choice 3) they did something reflexively and may not even have realise they did anything. So I find criticising people for "they did it because there was something in it for them" such a lacklustre criticism, because that applies to almost everything. It's what was in it for them and how much they gave up for it that makes it laudable or contemptible.
    - soupfordummies 2y ago
      And as the old adage goes "doing good is its own reward", it's kind of impossible NOT to do it because of personal rewards since they're sort of inherent in the good deed anyway. Besides, why does it matter anyway? A good thing happened regardless of the motivation.
      - Pet_Ant 2y ago
        I mean it is one of the oldest areas of human study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
    - fc417fc802 2y ago
      > I find criticising people for "they did it because there was something in it for them" such a lacklustre criticism Agreed! However. > there are only three motivations for people to do things Cooperative behavior arises on its own via evolution in otherwise fairly primitive species. The benefit to the individual in such cases is extremely indirect but the game theory on a collective level is clear enough. Which is to say, you could just genuinely want to help others. I suppose one could argue that doing so benefits you emotionally but I feel that would be getting a bit reductionist.
- kstrauser 2y ago
  Alright. Almost no one is that purely altruistic.
  - deleted 2y ago
    [deleted]
  - ASalazarMX 2y ago
    Altruism is a weird thing, because deeds matter more than words, but doing altruistic things for the wrong reasons is still a bitter win. As an individual, intentions matter as much as deeds. I'm not saying this man was or wasn't purely altruistic, I have no way of knowing that. I'm just playing Devil's advocate to point out that altruism can be a fascinatingly deceptive gray zone, even if it does a net good.
klik99 2y ago
I was gonna disagree with you, until I saw this line: "Mr. Friede’s first snake encounter, a harmless bite by a garter snake at age 5, started a lifelong fascination. “If I only knew back then what was going to happen,” he recalled, laughing uproariously. But he didn’t begin dabbling with snakes in earnest until he was married with children and working in construction." "Dabbling with snakes" is just poetry I mean, I think people can be that altruistic, but the people who really make a difference are those whose interests align with an altruistic outcome.

zahlman 2y ago

I don't know that "likes getting bit" explains it. Perhaps, for example, it's a matter of feeling pride for surviving.

kstrauser 2y ago
I don't know, either. Maybe it'd be my favorite thing ever, but I hope I never find out. But get bit by one snake, you're unlucky. Get bit by 5 snakes, it's an occupational hazard. Get bit by 100 snakes, I think there's something else going on.

toomuchtodo 2y ago

> No one's that purely altruistic. "James Harrison, a prolific Australian blood donor famed for having saved the lives of more than two million babies, has died at age 88." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(blood_donor) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harrison_(blood_donor) https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/health/james-harrison-blood-donor-death-scli-intl/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/03/health/james-harrison-blood-d...

sidewndr46 2y ago
It seems he likely appreciate the indirect fame it brought him, but it is actually personal sacrifice on his part. I commend his efforts.
- Pet_Ant 2y ago
  I think if you really get down to it, there are only three motivations for people to do things: 1) they benefit from it somehow, even if it just flatters their sense of justice 2) they did it unquestioningly because someone told them to, it didn't occur to them that they even had a choice 3) they did something reflexively and may not even have realise they did anything. So I find criticising people for "they did it because there was something in it for them" such a lacklustre criticism, because that applies to almost everything. It's what was in it for them and how much they gave up for it that makes it laudable or contemptible.
  - soupfordummies 2y ago
    And as the old adage goes "doing good is its own reward", it's kind of impossible NOT to do it because of personal rewards since they're sort of inherent in the good deed anyway. Besides, why does it matter anyway? A good thing happened regardless of the motivation.
    - Pet_Ant 2y ago
      I mean it is one of the oldest areas of human study: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethics
  - fc417fc802 2y ago
    > I find criticising people for "they did it because there was something in it for them" such a lacklustre criticism Agreed! However. > there are only three motivations for people to do things Cooperative behavior arises on its own via evolution in otherwise fairly primitive species. The benefit to the individual in such cases is extremely indirect but the game theory on a collective level is clear enough. Which is to say, you could just genuinely want to help others. I suppose one could argue that doing so benefits you emotionally but I feel that would be getting a bit reductionist.
kstrauser 2y ago
Alright. Almost no one is that purely altruistic.
- deleted 2y ago
  [deleted]
- ASalazarMX 2y ago
  Altruism is a weird thing, because deeds matter more than words, but doing altruistic things for the wrong reasons is still a bitter win. As an individual, intentions matter as much as deeds. I'm not saying this man was or wasn't purely altruistic, I have no way of knowing that. I'm just playing Devil's advocate to point out that altruism can be a fascinatingly deceptive gray zone, even if it does a net good.

klik99 2y ago

I was gonna disagree with you, until I saw this line: "Mr. Friede’s first snake encounter, a harmless bite by a garter snake at age 5, started a lifelong fascination. “If I only knew back then what was going to happen,” he recalled, laughing uproariously. But he didn’t begin dabbling with snakes in earnest until he was married with children and working in construction." "Dabbling with snakes" is just poetry I mean, I think people can be that altruistic, but the people who really make a difference are those whose interests align with an altruistic outcome.