Damn, that's a good question. Channeling my inner Wolfson, I'd say that if you're talking about Godwin's Law as it was originally framed--that the longer a discussion goes on, the closer we get to probability 1 that someone will call someone else Hitler--then it's so true as to be meaningless, but with the bizarre twist that it might well be a compliment. If you mean the more common understanding of Godwin's Law--that whoever calls his opponent "Hitler" first, loses--then it seems we've found a world where it's just not true. We have an incompatibility comparable to the great quantum mechanics / theory of relativity dilemma. I'm open to suggestions about a GUT.
Did you notice the number of posts that some of the people on that forum have? THOUSANDS each! One guy is approaching 30,000 posts. I don't quite know what to think about that.
"It is also interesting that, among Nazis, a "reverse Godwin's law" exists where, as an argument devolves into a flame war, there is an increasingly greater probability that one or the other side will invoke a comparison to Jews as an insult, much the same as a comparison to Hitler or Nazis is regularly an insulting one."
Apostropher, I was going to follow up with something like "yeah, no wonder everyone hated 'em in medieval times" but I wasn't sure how to make the vox day reference clear. Except by making the whole thing into a narrative of what I was planning, and that would be sooooo lame.
"It is also interesting that, among Nazis, a "reverse Godwin's law" exists where, as an argument devolves into a flame war, there is an increasingly greater probability that one or the other side will invoke a comparison to Jews as an insult, much the same as a comparison to Hitler or Nazis is regularly an insulting one."
I thought of that, but it seemed too damn obvious. I guess it will have to do.
Personally, speaking, I've never understood antisemitism at all. Jews are TEH ROXORZZZZ1!!!!!11!!
Man, those Jews sure can carry a grudge, huh?
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 3:10 PM
(If only we had timestamps, everyone could see that) you're all alone out there, a-man.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 3:55 PM
I'd come to apostropher's defense, but I'm still mad at him for that mood-killing comment in the "I Suspect Not" comments.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 4:05 PM
How does Godwin's law work over there?
Posted by praktike | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 4:16 PM
Damn, that's a good question. Channeling my inner Wolfson, I'd say that if you're talking about Godwin's Law as it was originally framed--that the longer a discussion goes on, the closer we get to probability 1 that someone will call someone else Hitler--then it's so true as to be meaningless, but with the bizarre twist that it might well be a compliment. If you mean the more common understanding of Godwin's Law--that whoever calls his opponent "Hitler" first, loses--then it seems we've found a world where it's just not true. We have an incompatibility comparable to the great quantum mechanics / theory of relativity dilemma. I'm open to suggestions about a GUT.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 4:27 PM
Did you notice the number of posts that some of the people on that forum have? THOUSANDS each! One guy is approaching 30,000 posts. I don't quite know what to think about that.
Posted by Bob Munck | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 4:44 PM
Good lord. We have just over 13000 comments on this blog, since we started two years ago.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 4:46 PM
"Channeling my inner Wolfson ..."
Either way, there's a serious problem here.
Posted by praktike | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 6:16 PM
from "Godwin's Law" on Wikipedia.com
answering Praktike:
"It is also interesting that, among Nazis, a "reverse Godwin's law" exists where, as an argument devolves into a flame war, there is an increasingly greater probability that one or the other side will invoke a comparison to Jews as an insult, much the same as a comparison to Hitler or Nazis is regularly an insulting one."
Posted by arthur | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 7:37 PM
Apostropher, I was going to follow up with something like "yeah, no wonder everyone hated 'em in medieval times" but I wasn't sure how to make the vox day reference clear. Except by making the whole thing into a narrative of what I was planning, and that would be sooooo lame.
Posted by FL | Link to this comment | 03- 1-05 7:46 PM
"It is also interesting that, among Nazis, a "reverse Godwin's law" exists where, as an argument devolves into a flame war, there is an increasingly greater probability that one or the other side will invoke a comparison to Jews as an insult, much the same as a comparison to Hitler or Nazis is regularly an insulting one."
I thought of that, but it seemed too damn obvious. I guess it will have to do.
Personally, speaking, I've never understood antisemitism at all. Jews are TEH ROXORZZZZ1!!!!!11!!
Posted by praktike | Link to this comment | 03- 2-05 12:07 PM
While we're on the subject, here's a tasty little glass of vodka.
Posted by Joe Drymala | Link to this comment | 03- 2-05 1:22 PM