The rule could be anything, as funny or as serious as you want. The universe will progress in a similar way that it has up until this point, unless your changed rule prevented it from doing so.

Some examples might be:

  • The invention of currency is not allowed.
  • Iron is slightly less stable.
  • The Ancient Greeks are able to cultivate Silphium, which does not go extinct now.
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29 points

A necessary requirement for higher intelligence is proper, functioning empathy. If you lack this, you’re just… Incapable of intelligent thought beyond that of a particularly stupid dog

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16 points

Humans do generally have proper functioning empathy

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11 points

dogs, too. such a strange take

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5 points

a moral impetus, informed directly by empathy, that is so overwhelming that the feelings of others are tantamount to one’s own

I’m guessing this is their meaning. Sounds interesting. Maybe that version of humanity would have far fewer nukes and a lot more good sex.

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4 points

Sadly, I have a hard time believing this.

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1 point

The problem is that basic empathy only goes so far. But we [almost] all have it.

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3 points

CEOs and similar psychopaths don’t, though.

(Though those already tend to have the intelligence of a particularly stupid dog anyway, so I don’t really see how this would change anything.)

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1 point

I thought the thing about psychopaths is not that they don’t have empathy or that it’s something that’s completely bizarre and alien to them, but rather that they have a switch where they can turn it off.

Like most of us would recoil in horror at watching a video of somebody being beheaded on the internet and many of us have had that unfortunate experience, but a psychopath has the ability to not feel anything at all about it if they don’t want to.

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5 points

Have to say this wouldn’t affect me, not because I don’t have any empathy but only cold, logical political solidarity, but also because I wouldn’t really class myself as particularly intelligent. I’m just walking here

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3 points
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I feel like we would still have many of the same billionaires if not all

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