[extropy-chat] chess and lizards

[KAZ]

----- Original Message ----
From: Hal Finney <hal at finney.org>
To: extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 12:35:13 PM
Subject: Re: [extropy-chat] chess and lizards


Spike asked:
> > Whole nuther unrelated question please Eli.  In your summit talk you made a
> > reference to politicians not being lizards.  The audience made an unexpected
> > reaction, mirth or surprise.  You looked around as if to say whaaaat?  This
> > was my reaction too: whaaaat?

> Here's what I think happened.  Eliezer made some straightforward comment
> about politicians being smarter than lizards.  This is plainly true.
> However it is also a perfect 'straight line' setting up a joke, a put-down
> of politicians suggesting that they are dumber than lizards.  The audience
> members each mentally supplied the punch line and laughed at that.

Hmmm...I agree with Spike, insofar as it's just not funny.
 
I mean, politicians ARE dumber than lizards.
 
Does anyone here seriously think that we would be anything but better off, if every politician in the US were replaced in their job, tomorrow, by a lizard?
 
To be fair, it would be an improvement for precisely the same reason that replacing them with rocks would work.
 
Hmmm...by "replacing with rocks" I mean putting the rocks in their place, not using the rocks as a means of driving them out of office. That wouldn't be nearly as effective in practice as it is pleasant to imagine.
 
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