Will_Sawin comments on 1001 PredictionBook Nights - Less Wrong

51 Post author: gwern 08 October 2011 04:04PM

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Comment author: BrandonReinhart 12 October 2011 05:38:17AM 4 points [-]

An exercise we ran at minicamp -- which seemed valuable, but requires a partner -- is to take and argue for a position for some time. Then, at some interval, you switch and argue against the position (while your partner defends). I used this once at work, but haven't had a chance since. The suggestion to swap sides mid argument surprised the two, but did lead to a more effective discussion.

The exercise sometimes felt forced if the topic was artificial and veered too far off course, or if one side was simply convinced and felt that further artificial defense was unproductive.

Still, it's a riff on this theme.