> And a counting stick is good at counting numbers, is it also alive?
Sticks are a bad example to use, because they come from living objects. So, yes, they can indeed be alive. In this case, alive, but probably rapidly dying or having become deceased in the past. In some cases you can attach the stick back to its original home and it will get to live. I feel like this in this you intended to provide an example which doesn't contradict your point. So it might make more sense if we talk about a counting rock rather than a counting stick. So I'm going to try and make your argument stronger before I address it:
> And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, is it also alive?
Obviously the answer here is that it is not alive. However, this does not at all establish the OPs claim of exploit-ability. The question you must ask to establish your claim is "And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, assuming someone ends up thinking it is alive, does it follow that others can exploit that person?" Or maybe an even more fair question would be "And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, assuming you observe someone to appear to think that the rock is alive, can you exploit them?"
The flavor of his assertion is very different than the flavor of your question.
Sticks are a bad example to use, because they come from living objects. So, yes, they can indeed be alive. In this case, alive, but probably rapidly dying or having become deceased in the past. In some cases you can attach the stick back to its original home and it will get to live. I feel like this in this you intended to provide an example which doesn't contradict your point. So it might make more sense if we talk about a counting rock rather than a counting stick. So I'm going to try and make your argument stronger before I address it:
> And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, is it also alive?
Obviously the answer here is that it is not alive. However, this does not at all establish the OPs claim of exploit-ability. The question you must ask to establish your claim is "And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, assuming someone ends up thinking it is alive, does it follow that others can exploit that person?" Or maybe an even more fair question would be "And a counting rock is good at counting numbers, assuming you observe someone to appear to think that the rock is alive, can you exploit them?"
The flavor of his assertion is very different than the flavor of your question.