The Book of Thunks

Episode #95 of Hello Internet pondered a list of questions from The Book of Thunks. Some were interesting.

If the cure for cancer meant constructing a huge factory in Antarctica, should would do it anyway?

Definitely. Cancer sucks.

If the cure for cancer meant destroying all of Antarctica, would you do it?

Probably not. I assume destroying a continent would have unintended consequences even worse than cancer. Perhaps not Moon destroying bad, but bad. We’ve built lots of factories, but have never destroyed a continent before.

Is a horse a vehicle?

I always think of vehicles as machines.

Would it be okay to blast our rubbish into space?

Yes, if it was being sent into the Sun, but that’s probably not cost-effective. No if we’re just sending into deep space, which is also probably not cost effective. Hell no if we’re sending it into orbit.

Would a baby on a deserted island ever laugh?

Only if something funny happened.

Would a baby on a deserted island ever find something funny?

Oh, I see what you did there. Not everyone has the same sense of humor, but humor is universal. My favorite theory is Benign Violation, which makes it easy to imagine said baby experiencing something harmless and unexpected, which they’d therefore find funny.

If a robot waiter brings you a drink, should you thank it?

If the robot is human enough that it comes naturally, then why not? The robot doesn’t care, so do whatever makes you feel the least awkward.

If you do something wrong when you are drunk, should you feel less guilty?

No, by the transitive property of adulting, you should feel the full weight of your guilt, unless you were intoxicated against your will.

Is vandalizing a speed camera the same as vandalizing a lifebuoy?

No, because speed cameras are the Devil’s thought technology.

Can you think of two things at the same time?

Yes. No. Yes, by existence proof.

Would you accept a heart transplant from a rapist?

So I’d be alive now and he’d be dead? Um, yeah. Blood pumps aren’t the heart¹ of criminality.

If a rapist died, and left all of their money to you in their will, would you accept it?

Yes, and donate it to the specific victims if possible or rape victims generally if not.

Should your estate own the emails in your inbox when you die?

If you don’t leave specific instructions then emails are like any other property. Especially because all the recipients already have copies.

Should stupid people be prevented from voting?

Everyone is stupid sometimes. Who am I to judge?

Should stupid people be prevented from having babies?

See above, but being stupid ≠ child endangerment, so kids should be taken away from dangerously stupid or abusive people.

Could one army of robots fighting another army of robots ever decide a war?

Yes, although if one side never surrendered then the robots would have to fight people at some point too.

Could a computer write a poem?

Of course. Art made to convey artist intent is a subset of art. Found art is another, as is art made through an intermediary.

Are we more alive than a tree?

I see life as a multi-variate continuum, not a binary state, with sentience and consciousness at one end. So trees < people.