katydee comments on Skill: The Map is Not the Territory - Less Wrong

49 Post author: Eliezer_Yudkowsky 06 October 2012 09:59AM

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Comment author: katydee 08 October 2012 01:16:52AM *  4 points [-]

Well, the LessWrong wiki specifically says that "tapping out doesn't mean accepting defeat," which I think would generally be considered false in other contexts. If you're agreeing with this, sorry for belaboring the point, but I'm not entirely sure how to parse your post.

"Bowing out" definitely seems like an appropriate replacement.

Comment author: wedrifid 08 October 2012 01:43:37AM 1 point [-]

Well, the LessWrong wiki specifically says that "tapping out doesn't mean accepting defeat," which I think would generally be considered false in other contexts.

That's a good point. I hadn't paid much attention to the origin of the phrase (and haven't used it), but that is exactly what we do to concede when doing Jiu-Jitsu.

"Bowing out" definitely seems like an appropriate replacement.

I didn't think the connotations to that one were any less.

Comment author: katydee 08 October 2012 02:02:17AM 1 point [-]

Perhaps "stepping out," then?

Comment author: [deleted] 08 October 2012 02:18:21AM *  2 points [-]

I don't think any bit of jargon is going to hide the fact that it's a little humiliating to leave a discussion having failed to move your interlocutor. Someone who isn't humiliated at having laid out all their reasons to no effect is probably arguing in bad faith.

Comment author: katydee 08 October 2012 02:22:31AM 2 points [-]

I'm not so sure. If I have laid out all my reasons to no effect, that could simply mean my opponent is unusually obstinate rather than that my arguments are unusually poor.

Comment author: [deleted] 08 October 2012 02:46:35AM 1 point [-]

Fair enough, but we should recognize how powerfully motivated we are to think our intractable opponent is obstinate rather than reasonably unconvinced.

Comment author: Athrelon 08 October 2012 11:49:24AM 1 point [-]

"Having more free time" and "being more stubborn" shouldn't win arguments, but they do in real life where arguments are mostly about status, so we translate the status dynamics online.

Comment author: Jonathan_Graehl 08 October 2012 01:47:49AM 0 points [-]

Yeah. I agree with you. Wiki needs correction (although sometimes technically imprecise language can adjust attitudes better than precision).