TinyOrbit's recent activity
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Comment on Trolley problem, again in ~humanities
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Comment on Trolley problem, again in ~humanities
TinyOrbit Link ParentI agree. One interesting twist is that in the real world we rarely know outcomes with certainty before we make our choices. How does doubt affect your choices? What if pulling the lever kills...The argument that "not pulling the lever" is not making a choice has never made sense to me.
I agree.
One interesting twist is that in the real world we rarely know outcomes with certainty before we make our choices.
How does doubt affect your choices? What if pulling the lever kills everyone on both tracks? What if emergency responders are en route and have a good chance of arriving on time and finding a way to save everyone? What if pulling the lever might derail the trolley and send it straight toward you? What about the passengers on the trolley? Which outcome is more dangerous for them?
All the doubt we have in the real world would make me far less confident to bias to action.
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Comment on Irreverent ads make me want to buy things even less in ~talk
TinyOrbit LinkI empathize, and I'm sorry. I think this just highlights the reality that advertisers aren't our friends. They're strangers who want our money. They'll project whatever persona they think might...I empathize, and I'm sorry.
I think this just highlights the reality that advertisers aren't our friends. They're strangers who want our money. They'll project whatever persona they think might achieve that. If that's low brow, ambulance chasing, morally bankrupt "look at me!" messaging, so be it.
I think this example just tries to trigger people's baser instincts, recognizing that putting down others in the name of some shared value fosters connection. And lazy attempts at connection are par for the course for advertising campaigns.
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Trolley problem, again
Hi! I just watched the TV show Widow's Bay (highly recommended). One episode explored the classic trolley problem and got my mind rolling over its fascinating nuances. I see this problem was...
Hi!
I just watched the TV show Widow's Bay (highly recommended). One episode explored the classic trolley problem and got my mind rolling over its fascinating nuances. I see this problem was already discussed on tildes, but hope a 2026 revisit is worthwhile.
The episode promoted not pulling the lever. It argued that we can't stop all the horrible things that happen in the world. But we can control our own moral status:
"The runaway trolley is life. The lever is me... if I pull that lever it's a choice and I'm choosing to kill that person. I could never do that."
and this lovely message:
"The world is violent and mercurial. It will have its way with you…We live in a perpetually burning building, and what we must save from it all the time is love."
As sweet as that is, I find that interpretation lacking. To me, the physical act of pulling the lever isn't the core moral signal. Not pulling it isn't a get-out-of-responsibility-free card. There's still a violent outcome. That outcome happened because you made the choice to allow it. While you're not responsible for the scenario, you're still responsible for the outcome because it was entirely on you what the result would be.
I think my interpretation matches the "utilitarian" argument, which also hints at "the ends justify the means." I'm not, more generally, willing to get behind "the ends justify the means". But there is important nuance here. Sometimes we must cause harm for greater good and inaction in hard circumstances is its own moral trap. So I'm not sure what I think.
Also enjoyed exploring the variants at https://neal.fun/absurd-trolley-problems/. How would you handle them?
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Comment on What creative projects have you been working on? in ~creative
TinyOrbit LinkI made a googly-eyed monster card for my friend who's having an operation. Made from colored construction paper, abstract patterns cut out from old magazines, stickers, a toothpick, and of course...I made a googly-eyed monster card for my friend who's having an operation. Made from colored construction paper, abstract patterns cut out from old magazines, stickers, a toothpick, and of course googly eyes (one huge cyclop-defining googly eye and a few smaller eyes by the ears for extra monstrous embellishment). Also a cute little hat cut out from a picture of some dude from some article about a county fair or something.
All connected to a speech bubble wishing my friend a safe experience and good recovery.
It was a great way to spend an early evening.
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Comment on Do you think you're special? in ~talk
TinyOrbit Link ParentThanks for this amazing followup. You gave me a lot more to think about. I fear my response won't do justice to everything you're saying, but here goes... Excellent insight. I agree you're probing...Thanks for this amazing followup. You gave me a lot more to think about. I fear my response won't do justice to everything you're saying, but here goes...
There's a sense that objective metrics are just red herrings and the underlying feeling is based on something else
Excellent insight. I agree you're probing something deeper than how I summarized it. I still think the deepest answers somehow involve our relationship with our ego, so somehow comparative elements have a place in the story. But maybe what you're identifying is that the ultimate feeling is sub-rational. As many of our strongest feelings are.
Your progression sounds so common. If we're born into good families we're rightfully given constant emotional support to help us develop into healthy human beings. As kids the whole world is ahead of us - it's a world of unbound potential and constant encouragement to explore our talents and consider what they might offer to the world. And we only have so much social exposure so we're not fully aware that our greatest talents aren't unique.
Even aside from that the world is just newer: we're still building knowledge and relationships, there's more new adventure to be had, our responsibilities are limited so we have the freedom to explore and connect. It's all a virtuous cycle of supportive development.
And then slowly over time we become more "adult". Less hand holding, less support for exploration for its own sake, more responsibility, higher expectations. We start to face more of the tough, merciless world head-on, without filter. And we're more expected to handle it with whatever coping mechanisms we developed from that earlier period. The game is real now. We're fully in it. And good luck.
I don't see how that wouldn't be taxing on someone, as they bear more and more weight, and need to rely more on their inner selves to keep balance just to keep their head above water.
So maybe what I'm saying is there's natural child to adult environmental changes as we age. With more weight put on us and more expectations we handle the weight on our own. Our environments are by definition immersive: they surround our thoughts and feelings constantly. So we're inevitably going to feel that shift, even if not consciously.
And in my opinion one of the greatest challenges of adulting is to somehow remember our inner worth, remember all the best feelings we felt as young people with all our potential in front of us, and find space to exercise that part of our mind and soul to internalize that again, even if just a little bit, as a reminder that the stresses of our current environments still aren't everything that's out there.
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Comment on Do you think you're special? in ~talk
TinyOrbit LinkI can think of at least two interpretations of "special". I'm super-curious which motivates your post, since that could drive so many interesting followup thoughts. Egotistically special: "I'm not...I can think of at least two interpretations of "special". I'm super-curious which motivates your post, since that could drive so many interesting followup thoughts.
Egotistically special: "I'm not like the others".
Enlightened special: "I'm amazing but so are others. It's not zero-sum. I can love my self and my unique qualities while equally loving all the other unique energies the world gives off".
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Comment on Did my first metric century (bike ride)! in ~hobbies
TinyOrbit LinkCongratulations! Cycling has become one of my greatest sources of life adventure. I've found it really empowering to realize that normal people can do these sorts of distances, given the will and...Congratulations!
Cycling has become one of my greatest sources of life adventure. I've found it really empowering to realize that normal people can do these sorts of distances, given the will and some patience to practice.
Once you've opened up 50 miles you're well positioned to do serious exploration with really fulfilling opportunities to connect with the world. Even cooler, with a bit more patience you can accumulate this into multi-day rides and super-charge your adventurous ambitions as far as you want to take them.
That's the trajectory that took me from rides around town to biking across France. A few years ago I couldn't have imagined an adventure that ambitious. Now I have that packed away as one of my most amazing travel memories. And thinking about what other routes I could design with the entire world as a canvas is fantastically inspiring. I and my bike can literally go anywhere. I bet you and your bike can too.
I'd love to share more enthusiastic chat about this as much as anyone's up for it.
Excellent insight, thank you. Far better to avoid facing the trolley problem in the first place.
I guess it's a metaphor for trying, desperate times. We always have and always will face them. But we do best when we reduce the need for them.