The axiom of choice doesn't say one way or another whether the spectrum in "the standard order" (is there a standard definition of more/less gay?) is a well ordering, only that there is some well ordering.

[–] affiliate@lemmy.world 1 points 5 months ago

yeah this is true. i should have clarified a bit better that a well ordering wouldn’t give you a “least gay” person in that sense of the word. it would be more correct to say there is a well ordering ⊰, and so there is a “⊰”-least gay person. but of course a “⊰”-least gay person could be in the middle of that spectrum.

but the number of people on earth is finite, so in fact the usual ordering is a well-ordering in this case. so i guess those two mistakes i made cancel each other out, and the axiom of choice isn’t even needed here.