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brazil84 comments on Logical Rudeness - Less Wrong
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That's really pretty ridiculous. You can try to speak precisely. Why should we all concede that hyperbole is acceptable in an argument?
If you want to argue about student loans you could: approach it from another side or focus on elite/private law schools. Overstating your case only works when preaching to the choir. Then, it misinforms and makes you less credible to others.
I'm not saying that hyperbole is acceptable. But if I engage in hyperbole, it's still rude to nitpick the hyperbole while ignoring the strongest part of the argument. In this case, the argument still stands if one substitutes "generally speaking" for "always."
Sure, but it's difficult to be sufficiently precise at all times. It's rude to seize upon an inprecision to dismiss an argument while ignoring the main thrust of the argument.
I'm trying to make the point that its easy to jump on (especially glaring) imprecision. Your general thrust is weakened, often unfairly, by its presence. It can be a bummer for an argument if people jump on imprecise things, but hopefully you can stop that before it happens by omitting them in the first place.
I agree. But at a certain point, you have to rely on the other fellow to be reasonable in interpreting what you say.
To illustrate, it takes a lot of time and effort to formulate something like this:
It's a lot easier to simply say "the sky is blue." Any reasonable person understands what you mean.