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Off-Topic Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: WillLem on July 31, 2022, 01:41:01 AM

Title: Is this a troll post?
Post by: WillLem on July 31, 2022, 01:41:01 AM
I'm just wondering, is this a troll post?

Either way, you just lost the game
Title: Re: Is this a troll post?
Post by: namida on July 31, 2022, 08:07:00 AM
Two users make an identical topic, on the same board, at the same time. One is trolling, one is not. How can you tell which is which?

The answer (click to show/hide)
Title: Re: Is this a troll post?
Post by: Liebatron on August 04, 2022, 07:02:51 AM
Oh man, so this is something my American Philosophy professor would have a field day with, because my instinct as an American is to say "It doesn't matter since the practical effect is the same", which fits in with the idea of American Pragmatism described in the late 1800s.

https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/william-james-and-squirrel-example

If you were to engage the troll and non-troll in conversation and observe the non-troll having a different and more sensible reaction to challenges than the real troll, then I suppose the difference would matter, but if we assume their behavior is consistent in the face of replies, then it's immaterial.

However, I don't know what American Philosophy has to say about the case where the person posing that question is, themselves, trolling in a way, lol.
Title: Re: Is this a troll post?
Post by: WillLem on August 19, 2022, 07:14:41 PM
Quote from: Liebatron on August 04, 2022, 07:02:51 AM
"It doesn't matter since the practical effect is the same"

This is interesting! It comes down to intentions vs outcomes, and even how intentions and outcomes can intertwine (like a squirrel running around a tree ;P)

The intention may be to troll but the outcome may be a serious conversation. This would subvert the very practice of trolling!

Quote from: Liebatron on August 04, 2022, 07:02:51 AM
https://www.philosophytalk.org/blog/william-james-and-squirrel-example

The human does go around the squirrel. They have to, since if the squirrel is always connected to the tree, and the human goes around the tree, then it doesn't matter whereabouts on the tree the squirrel is, the human will complete a full circumnavigation of the circle that the squirrel makes around the tree:

(https://i.imgur.com/omz1XXO.png)