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"One of the books that has made me feel the most called out ever (in a good way). It's also helping with making sense of a lot of different experiences and patch together a lot of therapy techniques that work well for me into a coherent whole. (But still a lot left to go)" — Feb 06, 2020 12:01PM
"One of the books that has made me feel the most called out ever (in a good way). It's also helping with making sense of a lot of different experiences and patch together a lot of therapy techniques that work well for me into a coherent whole. (But still a lot left to go)" — Feb 06, 2020 12:01PM
“All right," said Susan. "I'm not stupid. You're saying humans need... fantasies to make life bearable."
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
"They're not the same at all!"
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"
MY POINT EXACTLY.”
― Hogfather
REALLY? AS IF IT WAS SOME KIND OF PINK PILL? NO. HUMANS NEED FANTASY TO BE HUMAN. TO BE THE PLACE WHERE THE FALLING ANGEL MEETS THE RISING APE.
"Tooth fairies? Hogfathers? Little—"
YES. AS PRACTICE. YOU HAVE TO START OUT LEARNING TO BELIEVE THE LITTLE LIES.
"So we can believe the big ones?"
YES. JUSTICE. MERCY. DUTY. THAT SORT OF THING.
"They're not the same at all!"
YOU THINK SO? THEN TAKE THE UNIVERSE AND GRIND IT DOWN TO THE FINEST POWDER AND SIEVE IT THROUGH THE FINEST SIEVE AND THEN SHOW ME ONE ATOM OF JUSTICE, ONE MOLECULE OF MERCY. AND YET—Death waved a hand. AND YET YOU ACT AS IF THERE IS SOME IDEAL ORDER IN THE WORLD, AS IF THERE IS SOME...SOME RIGHTNESS IN THE UNIVERSE BY WHICH IT MAY BE JUDGED.
"Yes, but people have got to believe that, or what's the point—"
MY POINT EXACTLY.”
― Hogfather
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Users of Less Wrong, a community blog dedicated to refining the art of human rationality.
Effective Altruists
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— last activity Mar 16, 2025 02:47PM
Recommend books, see what other people are reading, start a discussion, what have you. N.B. This group is not actively moderated and doesn't have any ...more
Niko’s 2025 Year in Books
Take a look at Niko’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
378 books
|
35 friends
638 books
|
60 friends
528 books
|
42 friends
166 books
|
17 friends
3,117 books
|
147 friends
515 books
|
48 friends
144 books
|
25 friends
353 books
|
9 friends
More friends…
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Polls voted on by Niko
Lists liked by Niko
