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Comment by jrq | Hacker News Reader

Isn't that an extremely dangerous thing to do to a person's mind?

Nobody is perfect, right? I believe that. That's an ancient biblical principle. If we were to take someone we perceive as unhealthy and conform their mind to someone we perceive as healthy, that person is being robbed of their individual experience and opportunity at life.

It's one thing to denounce criminalized thoughts, it's another to disallow them entirely. Regulating our thoughts and our actions is by definition living our lives. Excluding that experience, what is left?

I'm sorry if what I'm saying is not well organized, but for whatever reason this idea evokes something passionate in me. I don't think people should ever be put through that.

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Agreed; it sounds like an aseptic version of Room 101.

"But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself."

He truly loved big brother.

Yeah, I hadn't the bravery to include that, as I didn't want my response to seem so reactionary, but that really is what it is. Really the only difference is that in the book, he is coerced to perform the mental gymnastics through suffering, but if we could just restrain someone and zap them.... That's awful.

I'm glad others agree that this is at least controversial. The political landscape (at least here in America, my own perspective) the idea of offensive is seemingly headed down a path where people will want to bar themselves from experiencing anything offensive.

When you get on the subway and the guy next to you has odor, doesn't it make you appreciate your apartment even more?

Healthy dealings with unhealthy thoughts generally leads to healthy thoughts. Carl Rogers pioneered Humanist Psychology like fifty years ago, and he talked about that. Idk if he used the term self-talk, but that's what we call it now.

I think most neurodivergent people, particularly the criminally oriented ones, they have a dialogue imbalance, not a chemical imbalance. They are having the wrong conversations with themselves.

Anyways, the world is crazy.

People change how other people think all the time. Boot camp is an old tradition across many cultures that works surprisingly well. School and religion are similarly effective though they take longer. Even a 30 second commercial works at some level.

Changing the technique might have wider range of outcomes, but I am not sure you can say it's more or less dangerous without for example knowing how effective it is.

You know, you're entirely right. I am a bit disgusted with myself for not seeing that, as I'm usually wary of ethically dangerous things.

I guess it ought to be reserved for voluntary usage, i.e. to "show" someone what is wrong with you.

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