wedrifid 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: 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.