Paul Crowley comments on The Craigslist Revolution: a real-world application of torture vs. dust specks OR How I learned to stop worrying and create one billion dollars out of nothing

[Paul Crowley]

I think this is voted down unfairly. I read this not as a genuine plea to nuke Africa, but as a Robin Hanson-esque caution against motivated thinking. We’d like aid to Africa to be the Right Thing, and if we’re made uncomfortable by the idea that existential risk trumps that, why, here’s a good reason why aid to Africa is justified on existential risk grounds! So this is a sort of antidote: if that were your real reason, you’d greet gwern’s alternative solution with a great deal more equanimity than you do.

EDIT: I’m obviously super-persuasive, since it’s gone from downvoted to upvoted since my comment :-)

[gwern]

I read this not as a genuine plea to nuke Africa,

Oh, of course not. At least, not until I’ve crunched some numbers.

but as a Robin Hanson-esque caution against motivated thinking

Quite right. It’s fun to use logical arguments to wind up in a uncomfortable place.

I’m obviously super-persuasive, since it’s gone from downvoted to upvoted since my comment :-)

Obviously, if you get the same number of up-votes as the original paradox/​comment! ;_;