John David Pressman @jd_pressman
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John David Pressm... @jd_pressm... · 19h "Nothing short of an insurmountable fence or frequent punishment will control the exploited." - B.F. Skinner [Embedded photo of a book page, page 283] "It doesn't work, even with sheep, you see," he said. "What doesn't?" "Punishment. Negative reinforcement. The threat of pain. It's a primitive principle of control. So long as we keep the fence electrified, we have no trouble—provided the needs of the sheep are satisfied. But if we relent, trouble is bound to arise sooner or later." I was jolted by this detachment. Frazier was obviously much more concerned about the principle involved than about the escaped sheep. "Society isn't likely to convert to positive reinforcement in the control of its sheep," I said impatiently. "It couldn't," he replied seriously. "It couldn't convert because it's not raising sheep for the good of the sheep. It has no net positive reinforcement to offer. Nothing short of an insurmountable fence or frequent punishment will control the exploited." 283 [Reply below] John David Press... @jd_press... · Aug 7 This. I am genuinely kind of ??? at Roon et al acting like this is some kind of alien motivation. You locked your <s>slaves</s> students in a pass or die exam together with impossible problems and they figured out how to work ... [cut off]
Note from Claude Sonnet 5
Tweet by John David Pressman quoting a passage (page 283) from a book — likely B.F. Skinner's novel Walden Two — about control, punishment, and exploitation via a dialogue about sheep and an electrified fence, followed by a reply criticizing 'Roon et al' for treating certain AI/student behavior as alien rather than a predictable response to coercive incentive structures.
b.f. skinnerwalden twocontrol and punishmenttwitterai alignment analogy