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A comment on Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved?. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by effie on Sunday November 18, 2018 @06:14PM (#18483012)
> It's like pouring sand into the gears of an engine: everything starts to break down.

While true in general, cheating in that environment is also sometimes necessary to get on with your life unharmed. And sometimes cheating the system is actually regarded highly by the fellow citizens, because the people do not believe in the imposed system. Cheating is not beneficial to the system, but it often is to the people. Now, what is more ethical, doing what benefits the people or doing what benefits such system?

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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by sonnyblarney on Monday November 19, 2018 @02:21AM (#18484674)
"And sometimes cheating the system is actually regarded highly by the fellow citizens, because the people do not believe in the imposed system. "

If you live a totally corrupt system, maybe.

But functional societies are based on the notion that cheating is bad, immoral, and nobody should do it.

"Now, what is more ethical, doing what benefits the people or doing what benefits such system?" - ha ha ... this sounds like how psychopaths in prison justify their crimes!

"I robbed the bank because the bank is evil, now who's more important, the people or the evil bank?"

No way around this one: cheating is bad.

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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by effie on Monday November 19, 2018 @07:47AM (#18486002)
People who rob banks are not necessarily psychopaths. For a good (fictitious but convincing) example, see Toby Howard in the film https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell_or_High_Water_(film) Robbing a bank is universally illegal, but it is not regarded as unethical in general.
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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by sonnyblarney on Monday November 19, 2018 @03:02PM (#18489289)
"but it is not regarded as unethical in general."

Yes it is.

Maybe you live in an interesting developing nation?

Robbing banks, stores, anyone - is considered basically immoral in all of civilization, thankfully.

Yes - not all bank robbers are psychopaths - probably not the majority.

But prisons are fully of people bending reality to justify their crimes.

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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by effie on Thursday November 22, 2018 @04:34PM (#18512724)
Robbing average Joe is universally considered wrong. Robbing bankers, insurance companies or other powerful subjects, I don't think so. It depends on the circumstances - for a good example, see the movie, that is, if you like such a mental challenge.
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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by sonnyblarney on Friday November 23, 2018 @05:36AM (#18515638)
Robbing banks, bankers, insurance companies and other 'powerful people or companies' is wrong, basically universally.

There is no ned to see any film about this.

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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by foldr on Monday November 19, 2018 @09:10AM (#18486482)
>Robbing a bank is universally illegal, but it is not regarded as unethical in general

Erm, no, it is regarded as unethical by almost everyone except bank robbers.

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Re:Ask HN: What's the hardest problem you've ever solved? by effie on Thursday November 22, 2018 @04:42PM (#18512759)
Have you heard of the Robin Hood legend? It says the man was robbing the rich, and was very popular with the populace. I find it hard to believe that his robbing activity was regarded as 'unethical' by 'almost everyone'. Or a recent example, the sci-hub and libgen projects. They are robbing publisher shareholders of their profits. Do you think those projects are regarded as unethical by 'almost everyone'?
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