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Comment by kabdib | Hacker News Reader

I've re-re-re-read most of his earlier works (Nova, Dhalgren, Driftglass and so on). I would recommend them to anyone, though Dhalgren and Triton are probably inappropriate and maybe incomprehensible for younger readers.

I got maybe 50pp into Nest of Spiders and was done. Every few months I try to read a few more pages, and always put the book down again.

However, I think that Delaney did not fail this reader. If anything, what he wrote in Spiders made me realize that I wasn't as open-minded as I thought I was. I don't care to expand those particular limits, the subject matter is definitely not my cup of tea. But I'm happy we live in a society where he can publish that work, and I'm happy to at least try to read it, and happy to do my bit to support him doing it.

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> made me realize that I wasn't as open-minded as I thought I was.

I really don't understand this use of the phrase "open-minded". Open-mindedness, to me, means being willing to question deeply-held opinions and beliefs. And being okay with other humans freely making very different decisions with regards to religion, sexuality, occupation, etc.

None of that has the slightest thing to do with trying to quell instinctive reactions of disgust to pedophilia and booger-eating.

People often have a stronger reaction to your religion than your booger-eating; I don't actually understand the distinction you're making here. It reads like being "open-minded" for you is to be tolerant of the things that you're currently tolerant of, but has nothing to do with the things that you are not currently tolerant of, reactions to which you deem "instinctive."

I don't believe that disgust with either of those things are instincts, they seem like examples of things that are learned and vary by culture. Instincts are more like being startled by loud noises, or things unexpectedly touching your head.

There's actually a good amount of evidence that the emotion of disgust - and even the associated facial expressions - are universal among human cultures. See research by Plutchik, Rozin, and Ekman.

It's elicited typically by potential biological contaminants, like bodily fluids, spoiled foods, vermin, bodily violations (blood, gore, etc.), and infection.

Perhaps "open minded" is not the right phrase. "Acceptance of appalling and disgusting behavior" is closer. It's definitely a value judgement on my part, I'm more conservative than I thought.

Eat all the boogers and ---- all the ----- that you want, I won't bother you and I'll even help protect your right to do it. I just don't want to know details.

> I wasn't as open-minded as I thought I was.

Don't open it too wide, unhygienic stuff might fall in.

On a related note: why is it that people understand basic food hygiene (don't eat rotten meat, wash your vegetables, spoiled milk is bad, etc.), but can't seem to grasp that the same basic concept applies to mental food too?

You are what you eat, and that applies to what you read and consume in media too.

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