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A comment on Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life. Parent comment

Re:Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life by Sohcahtoa82 on Wednesday May 06, 2020 @06:20PM (#23097052)
> assume positive intent.

I feel like this is somewhat related to Hanlon's Razor:

"Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity."

Maybe the guy driving like an asshole and making a sudden lane change is actually unfamiliar with the area and noticed a bit late that their lane ends or is becoming an exit/turn-only lane.

[ Parent | on HN ]
Re:Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life by phn on Wednesday May 06, 2020 @07:34PM (#23097750)
I like this one, and I read a good follow up for that one on HN recently:

Never attribute to stupidity what can be adequately explained by opportunity costs.

(Hope I'm not butchering the quote)

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Re:Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life by hef19898 on Thursday May 07, 2020 @05:45AM (#23101278)
Sometimes I have the feeling that, at the very extreme ends of each spectrum, stupidity and malice converge and become indistinguishable.
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Re:Ask HN: Name one idea that changed your life by blackboxlogic on Thursday May 07, 2020 @09:41AM (#23102835)
Sometimes, I would spent time trying to understand if someone was "asshole" or "idiot", the distinction being whether or not they understood the negative effects of their actions. I've recently decided that it didn't matter because I deploy the same polite mitigation strategy for both.
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