I hear the term "gaslighting" used a lot nowadays. Its textbook definition is a specific form of interpersonal manipulation that occurred in a movie.

But I've never been able to connect the dots between the term's textbook definition, and the way that people actually use it. The effective definition seems to be: "expressing a different perspective."

The more general meaning is "making a person question their own sense of reality", without any specification on who is causing it.

It may or may not apply here, it depends on if the person being argued against already knows the larger context of 80% being normal. Everyone around them pretending that was never the case would be gaslighting. If they didn't know the larger context, it wouldn't be gaslighting, they're just ignorant of the context.

I find this interesting too, wondering what we called it 5+ years ago when I never heard anyone use the term. My wife is a few years younger and uses it. I think the only time I've used it in 40+ years is asking my wife what it means.

If an argument involves differing opinions, and participating in an argument is an attempt to persuade, is that manipulation?

How so? Latest reports have most of the south from south carolina to Texas at 100% capacity. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/09/14/us/covid-hosp...

Please avoid this style of interaction on HN — it's been my favorite place for 13 years because of what dang often refers to as the right attitude for discussion, "coming with curiosity."

We try to avoid accusatory language, especially accusing others of lying, not by omission, but by commission for the sole purpose of psychological abuse.

ICU capacity is generally bottlenecked by staffing and not by beds within suitable facilities. Basically there are required minimum ratios both legally and from a "we have to follow our on policy lest we create slam dunk lawsuits" point of view.

ICU staffing is less elastic than it's ever been because hospitals have cut staffing in response to people postponing elective care (where all the $$ is).

So ICU capacity as a percentage of full is as much a reflection of hospitals being tightwads as it is about Covid.

> have cut staffing in response to people postponing elective care

Also more recently from firing nurses who don't want to get vaccinated, who had worked for all of last year without a vaccine.

So the hospitals _are_ full but they're actually not full, their capacity is lower than last year?

Do you have any sources that can back that claim? It seems like a first order, simple, cause and effect thought, but it's unclear if this is anecdotal or there was a mass firing of nurses that's got under the radar. Let's signal boost it, if so.

Gaslighting?

wtf?