GabrielDuquette comments on Rhetoric for the Good - Less Wrong
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Sure, LW has its own brand of plain talk (two words I'm already sick of reading, and I bet I'm not the only one). And I've spent my entire life dealing with exactly the same kinds of reactions that NancyLebovitz describes. It feels bad to part of a teased minority, but it also feels good to be in that minority because of a particular kind of excellence.
Still, whether empirical knowledge is required or not, speaking/writing more simply will move more people.
Picking a register appropriate to my audience will move that audience.
You gots to talk to people in their language.
Wouldn't you call that "preaching to the converted?"
I wouldn't, no. If I want to preach to the unconverted pagans, I do best to learn their language first.
Sorry, I had it in mind that you meant one thing when you actually meant another. And you were actually being very clear about your point.