Hacker News Reader

Comment by neverartful | Hacker News Reader

Nice article. When did the golden rule get invalidated?

The Golden Rule (treating others as you want to be treated) isn't actually very good. I prefer the Platinum Rule (treat others as THEY want to be treated)

Yes, the Golden Rule is good, because it assumes that you are the same as the other person (generally most people want to be treated with kindness and respect), rather than assuming that they are somehow different from you.

Agree with the Platinum rule. If you meet a big variety of people you'll learn fast that they want to be treated differently. There's a lot of room for social or cultural differences in humanity.

Just as an obvious example, the golden rule is why a lot of guys send dick pics.

The Platinum Rule isn't very good either. My preference is the converse of the Golden Rule: DON'T treat others as you would have them NOT treat you.

How is the Platinum rule good? When would treating someone how they want to be treated go wrong?

Your converse golden rule suffers the same problems as the golden rule - everyone should be treated individually, treating others the same as you expect people to treat you will not always work out as intended.

I don't know Boz, but having known others like him, I would say that many didn't actually violate the golden rule; people who are efficient and brash often not only don't mind, but expect others to act the same way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com