January 19, 2021

Good reminder: Silver rule is better:

The Golden Rule sometimes gets you in places where, for instance, a man looking for a wife would bring an additional wife to a married woman or to a grandfather busy preparing his business empire to pass on to his grandchild, neither of which wants a wife. "Do to others as you would have others do to you" is very dystopian, one-size-fits-all, controlling others.

Better: "Don't do to others that you would not want them to do to you." (Taleb's Silver Rule.)

Controlling others is the "0-sum" delusion (actually negative sum) that you think you know better for someone else what is good for them. Doing independent action is positive-sum, since everyone does what they know is best for them, and it calculates a better outcome than central power.

When I first heard the Golden Rule in elementary school (I think in 3rd or 6th grade), I also identified this error, but no one listened to me. Thank God for the prior uncensored Internet, where Nassim N. Taleb was free to speak, and since he is smart, figured that out himself as well, and re-spoke what I realized and he realized so we can all be reminded or taught that idea.

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