“Everyone has a plan until they get lied to the face” by Screwtape

LessWrong (Curated & Popular)

"Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face."
- Mike Tyson
(The exact phrasing of that quote changes, this is my favourite.)
I think there is an open, important weakness in many people. We assume those we communicate with are basically trustworthy. Further, I think there is an important flaw in the current rationality community. We spend a lot of time focusing on subtle epistemic mistakes, teasing apart flaws in methodology and practicing the principle of charity. This creates a vulnerability to someone willing to just say outright false things. We’re kinda slow about reacting to that.
Suggested reading: Might People on the Internet Sometimes Lie, People Will Sometimes Just Lie About You. Epistemic status: My Best Guess.
I.
Getting punched in the face is an odd experience. I'm not sure I recommend it, but people have done weirder things in the name of experiencing novel psychological states. If it happens in a somewhat safety-negligent sparring ring, or if you and a buddy go out in the back yard tomorrow night to try it, I expect the punch gets pulled and it's still weird. There's a jerk of motion your eyes try to catch up [...]
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Outline:
(01:03) I.
(03:30) II.
(07:33) III.
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The original text contained 1 footnote which was omitted from this narration.
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First published:
November 14th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/5LFjo6TBorkrgFGqN/everyone-has-a-plan-until-they-get-lied-to-the-face
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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