“Transgender Sticker Fallacy” by ymeskhout
Description
Let's say you’re a zoo architect tasked with designing an enclosure for ostriches, and let's also say that you have no idea what an ostrich is (roll with me here). The potentially six-figure question staring you down is whether to install a ceiling.
The dumb solution is to ask “Are ostriches birds?” then, surmising that birds typically fly, construct an elaborate aviary complete with netting and elevated perches.
The non-dumb solution is to instead ask “Can ostriches fly?” then skip the ceiling entirely, give these 320-pound land-bound speed demons the open sky life they actually need, and pocket the cost differential.
Your boss is not having it, however. When you inform him of your decision to eschew the ceiling enclosure, he gets beet-red and apoplectic, repeating like a mantra “But they’re birds! BIRDS!” and insists that ostriches belong in the aviary with the finches and parrots. I mean, he's [...]
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First published:
September 28th, 2025
Source:
https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/pyuCDYysud6GuY8tt/transgender-sticker-fallacy
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Narrated by TYPE III AUDIO.
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Images from the article:
![An illustrative graph of the gap between male and female athletic capabilities. Once humans hit puberty, almost any male will have a higher grip strength than almost all females. [Graph is via Reddit based on NHANES data from CDC]](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!0ERX!,w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F6515bd5a-33ff-4af6-942c-bfd8ad9e7b75_734x670.jpeg)
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