fubarobfusco comments on [Link] Offense 101 - Less Wrong

28 Post author: Alejandro1 24 October 2012 09:28PM

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Comment author: fubarobfusco 27 October 2012 01:12:41AM *  -1 points [-]

Have you noticed yet that you were in error about the meaning of my earlier comment, and that it was irrational for you to respond in the way that you did (claiming that it was about "psychological issues")?

Or ... maybe I didn't manage to get across what I intended to say, given that you interpreted it that way. I wouldn't want to assume that you were deliberately misconstruing it in order to make a status play or something.

(But if I use your approach, I get the result that blames you here. If I use my approach, it's my job to communicate my point in a way that succeeds with my audience, e.g. by not misleading you into thinking that I'm mocking anyone for having psychological problems. Which result do you prefer?)

Yes, people can misconstrue what someone meant by a communication. But if you notice that your ways of saying things are systematically misconstrued by a certain sort of people, that's equivalent to saying that you are not communicating effectively to that part of your audience.

Comment author: Eugine_Nier 27 October 2012 09:03:45PM 1 point [-]

(claiming that it was about "psychological issues")

Would you mind explaining how something like:

It seems to me that some folks highly value a self-image of not offending others

isn't talking about psychological issues.

Comment author: fubarobfusco 28 October 2012 09:53:56PM *  -1 points [-]

Hmm ... it's possible that I misunderstood you, too. I took "psychological issues" as a possibly-mocking euphemism for "mental illness" — as in "You know, he has psychological issues."

Self-image is surely a fact about personality — is that what you meant?