Comment on Something's Wrong

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 19:03:47 GMT

And it's also an example of moderates refusing to give the real reasons -- the delicate balance you refer to -- when responding to radicals. My point is that this is typical, and it's not typical for proponents of the status quo -- even the most expert -- to know about that delicate balance.

No disagreement here, but note that it's also true of most people who don't agree with the status quo.

(Also, by "expert", I mean "someone who knows enough about the subject", not "someone who speaks with authority about the subject and is widely listened-to and respected", so I would expect that by definition, experts should know about the balance. However it is possible that those the public considers are experts are in fact a bunch of clowns.)

But then it's kind of logically rude to expect radicals to refute an argument that their opponents aren't even aware of (as a good reason to support the status quo), isn't it?

(This is going a bit on a tangent) Well, if you're arguing with someone who doesn't know that much about an issue, I'm not sure what result you're expecting to get. There are cases where he would be justified in not changing his mind much. Maybe he'll tell you he trusts the opinion of person X or institution Y who is more knowledgeable (probably the position I'd take if you tried to convince me of some frine position in physics or mathematics), or that he'll research the subject a bit more himself.

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