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TheOtherDave comments on Better Disagreement - Less Wrong
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Comments (84)
DH7 should be kept internal, at least at first. Being misinterpreted as trying to construct a straw man when you've been trying to do the opposite can derail a conversation. To actually believe that you've made a steel man, not a straw man, the person you're arguing with would have to admit that you've created a stronger argument for their own position than they could.
It's probably best to practice up to DH7 internally, and only up to DH6 vocally.
If we imagine arguments as soldiers, as they tend to be, the problem becomes even clearer:
(A and B are about to fight.)
A. Ah! My worthy opponent! I shall send my greatest soldier to crush you... GOLIATH! ATTACK!
B. His sword's a little wimpy. Let me give him a bazooka.
If I were A, I wouldn't trust that bazooka on B's word alone, I'd be annoyed at the slight against my blacksmiths, and, even if it turned out to be a totally legitimate bazooka, I would, at the very least, consider B a tactless grandstander.
(Though if the bazooka did work, I'd use it, obviously. I just wouldn't like using it.)
Depends on how it's done, IME.
I often find that "Hm. So you're saying XYZ? That doesn't really work, because of ABC. But now that I think about it, X'Y'Z' would be consistent with what you're claiming, and not have that problem. Even there, though, A'B'C' suggests it's false." can work all right, although I'm often tempted to add "But of course by this point I've wandered off into a corner and started arguing with myself, which seems antisocial."
I think that in some contexts, like arguing over mathematical proofs (as orthonormal noted), spending a little time arguing with yourself to bring out X'Y'Z' is polite and a sign of good faith. In other cases, I'd rather just trot out A'B'C' early on, as long as it doesn't require too much effort, and deal with both arguments at once without ever explicitly raising X'Y'Z'.