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The shrimp welfare project

(benthams.substack.com)
81 points 0xDEAFBEAD | 1 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
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dfedbeef ◴[] No.42173041[source]
Waiting for the funny reveal that this is a prank
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niek_pas ◴[] No.42173328[source]
Why do you think this is a prank?
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dfedbeef ◴[] No.42173625[source]
Because it's funny enough and seems like an absolute S-tier performance artist critique of the effective altruism movement. Like who gives a shit about whether shrimp freeze to death or are electrocuted and then freeze to death.

But this blog post uses a little BS math (.3 seconds IS shorter than 20 minutes! By an order of magnitude! Take my money!)

and some hand wavey citations (Did you know shrimp MIGHT be conscious based on a very loose definition of consciousness? Now you too are very smart! You can talk about this with your sort-of friends (coworkers) from the job where you spend 80 hours a week now!)

to convince some people that this is indeed an important and worthy thing. Because people who can be talked into this don't really interact with the real world, for the most part. So they don't know that lots of actual people need actual help that doesn't involve them dying anyway and being eaten en-masse afterwards.

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1. BenthamsBulldog ◴[] No.42182222[source]
I'm using the standard definition of consciousness--having subjective experience. Not sure what "BS math" I used.

I agree that lots of people in the real world need help. Helping them is good. But so is averting enormous amounts of pain and suffering. In expectation, even given a low credence in shrimp sentience, giving averts huge amounts of pain and suffering, which is quite good.