Maybe he would be able to cry if the breakup had been more dramatic. He imagines that among normal people, losing a friend over a political or scientific argument (do normal people have scientific arguments?) usually involves some kind of vicious fight ("Trans women are men!" "Die, TERF scum!").
-Mark's social circle is far too civilized for that. Everyone wants to embody the spirit of [niceness, community, and civilization](http://slatestarcodex.com/2014/02/23/in-favor-of-niceness-community-and-civilization/)—and everyone knows game theory, so even if you're _not_ disposed to be nice, if you can _predict_ the outcome of a conflict, you can just implement that outcome directly without the costs of actually having to fight.
+Mark's social circle is far too civilized for that. Everyone wants to embody the spirit of [niceness, community, and civilization](http://web.archive.org/web/20200608154604/https://slatestarcodex.com/2014/02/23/in-favor-of-niceness-community-and-civilization/)—and everyone knows game theory, so even if you're _not_ disposed to be nice, if you can _predict_ the outcome of a conflict, you can just implement that outcome directly without the costs of actually having to fight.
So people cut ties peacefully. No vicious fights, no ill will. Just, _I like you and you haven't done anything wrong, but your vindictive attitude around this issue, while understandable, makes talking to you feel vaguely aversive to me; I don't want to hang out with you anymore._ And, _Okay, that's disappointing, but I understand; I like you, too._
projects / Ultimately_Untrue_Thought.git / blobdiff