Hacker News Reader

Comment by phwd | Hacker News Reader

In Season 5, Episode 17 of House, a guy loses his inhibition which causes him to speak his mind having no control over what he says. Now if you watched this episode (or read the recap), I hope you would understand the difference between stating a comment because you take notice of those around you versus saying the first thing that comes to mind.

View on HN

> In Season 5, Episode 17 of House, a guy loses his inhibition which causes him to speak his mind having no control over what he says.

he became an engineer? :P

Is a TV show really the best example, even if it's been seen by a relatively large number of people? It's not real, after all.

Related discussion from Less Wrong:

http://lesswrong.com/lw/k9/the_logical_fallacy_of_generaliza...

http://rationalwiki.org/wiki/Generalization_from_fictional_e...

No it is not the best example. Yes it is not real. You are concentrating a bit too much on the first sentence which has a little (if not anything) to do with the second (which is my fault ... I needed something to associate with). The point being raised is that sometimes some are quick to comment when under anonymity (no inhibition) rather than use their reasoning to go through what they are going to say. Though the first comment might be true, intelligent etc.. be wary of who that affects (because the people who read are real and they have feelings). Anonymity for some, skips that wary stage and leaves it up to the reader to either feed the fire or salvage.

The related discussion from ramchip (though a great read) is only weakly related again to the first sentence. I could tell my girlfriend I love her very much or I can tell her every ounce of annoyance she gives to me, first comment versus what you actually want to impart to produce a constructive and stable relationship. I want to be thoughtful and sincere not quick to the punch (Nothing at all to do with with whether the medical condition is real or not because the morals and values are learned).

In case this derailed, I am talking about users who leave the first thing that came to mind and had no thought of the consequences since under anonymity.

It is in fact a perfectly real condition: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disinhibition

I know the affliction is real, I'm just questioning the wisdom of using the portrayal thereof by a TV show as a basis for argument. The gracious commenters provided good links to expound on the fallacy.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com