Earlier quoted context omitted.
How does empathy have anything to do with this discussion? We were talking about how it can be more difficult to ignore the war and focus on something else in Europe, because you may feel the consequences in your daily life. Giving the news only 15 minutes of your time every day is not a very effective strategy, if you keep encountering the thing you are trying to avoid outside news.
If there is a war anywhere, it effects everyone, globally. I don't get why this is such a hard concept for people to understand.
Ask HN: How do you get work done while there is a war in Europe?
91–92 of 92 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you get work done while there is a war in Europe?
#92It is rational to ignore information about things we cannot affect. Your energy is much better used in other ways.
It's also rational to be affected by things we cannot affect as well though. Your comment could be interpetted as saying that it is irrational to not ignore these things. Unfortunately, platitudes are not always the answer.
It's natural to be affected by things we cannot affect, but it is not rational.
A rational agent or rational being is a person or entity that always aims to perform optimal actions based on given premises and information.[0] Thus, an agent that spends energy analyzing impossible scenarions cannot be rational.
>Your comment could be interpetted as saying that it is irrational to not ignore these things.
That would be a valid interpretation of my comment.