From: Kent Crispin <kent@songbird.com>
Date: Sat, 15 Nov 1997 06:36:09 +0800
To: cypherpunks@cyberpass.net
Subject: Re: Br'er Tim and the Bug Hole
In-Reply-To: <1f6c13f75e895afd9ec8f5d61ed19ff9@squirrel>
Message-ID: <19971114142015.35203@songbird.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain



On Thu, Nov 13, 1997 at 05:59:51AM -0000, Secret Squirrel wrote:
[...]
> 
> "I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, 
> or give me death." -- Patrick Henry
> 
> What is life without liberty?  Abject slavery.  Any sane man would rather
> die than be a slave.

It makes nice rhetoric, but this is simply not true, you know.  Most 
people correctly evaluate that you have no chance for freedom at all 
if you commit suicide, whereas a slave *does* have a chance.

But of course we know from game theory that being completely
predictable can be a weakness.  So having a certain percentage of the
population who will behave irrationally is probably necessary for the
health of a society.  But if too many people act irrationally, 
society will disintegrate.  (By "irrational" here I am referring to 
behaviour clearly contrary to your own survival.)

-- 
Kent Crispin				"No reason to get excited",
kent@songbird.com			the thief he kindly spoke...
PGP fingerprint:   B1 8B 72 ED 55 21 5E 44  61 F4 58 0F 72 10 65 55
http://songbird.com/kent/pgp_key.html