A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest of Nelson Mandela

Re:A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest ... by seanmcdirmid on Sunday May 15, 2016 @08:02PM (#11703397)

If someone said "let's go communist", you would have to argue with them why it was a bad idea. A reasonable proposition that turns out not to be a good idea.

If someone said "let's kill the Jews", you would probably slowly and carefully walk away from that person because they were nuts. An unreasonable proposition that you probably don't want to bother arguing against (because what kind of person would even say that?).

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Re:A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest ... by maxlybbert on Sunday May 15, 2016 @10:13PM (#11703827)

When I hear that something "works in theory," I understand that to mean "if you oversimplify a little, this would work well." "In theory, there's no difference between theory and practice; in practice there is."

But it's only valid if you oversimplify a little. Starting with "first, forget everything you know about human nature" goes too far.

I don't think of "works in theory" as shorthand for "doesn't have internal contradictions" or "sounds reasonable if you forget everything you know about human nature."

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Re:A former CIA spy has revealed his key role in the arrest ... by jdimov9 on Friday May 20, 2016 @02:45PM (#11740419)

I happen to have the exact same reaction to both (and it's not the kinder one).

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