briefnuts

briefnuts t1_j8dw3ql wrote

I think you're focussing on exactly the right thing.

For example:

In "the Boy Who Cried Wolf" a young boy enjoys yelling “wolf” and laughing as the adults in his village run around in a panic. But one day, he sees an actual wolf, and cries out “wolf” to try and get someone to save him. But no one comes because noone believes him anymore.

Instead of just taking the lesson ("don't lie"), we should be putting all of our efforts into:

Who is this boy? Where did he come from? What type of wolf was it? Was it even an unfriendly wolf? When did this story take place? How old was the boy? Where were his parents? Why was there a wolf? Why was there a boy? What were his/her pronouns? What did his diet consist of? Did the boy have 2 wolves inside him too? Did 1 wolf escape? Was this why he cried wolf so much?

Conclusion: Only after getting the crucial context should we allow ourselves to take lessons from parables to heart.

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briefnuts t1_irwi00p wrote

"What is this tickling? " the alien asked.

"Oh, it's just when people lightly stimulate the nerve endings in each other's skin to make their sensory receptors pass signals through their anterior cingulated cortex which in turn releases euphoria-promoting brain chemicals."

"That makes perfect sense, thank you earthling"

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