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I’m not sure what this has to do with an ancient Athenian philosopher being stoned to death for saying things other people didn’t want to hear, such as “I can’t possibly be both an atheist and worship false gods”.

Care to elaborate?

Just a modern rif on the same statement made above.

Didn't expect a quote from Tom Macdonald when I opened HN this morning.

Here's a gigantic PDF listing ways the truth can hurt all kinds of things: https://www.nickbostrom.com/information-hazards.pdf

What's your point? I didn't say the truth was harmless.

Just that it doesn't hurt points of view that are legitimate.

Illigitimate views and your feelings may still suffer from hearing the truth.

My point is that the facts don't care.

My point is that you can use true facts to give an impression that is false, as documented in the pdf.

Therefore, completely true facts can make you believe a falsehood.

Therefore, the truth can harm a point of view that is legitimate.

Maybe not, but opinions about how we should conduct our societies depend on feelings, and things that appear true but are subtly wrong can cause great harm.