Eugine_Nier comments on What are your rules of thumb? - Less Wrong

19 Post author: DataPacRat 15 February 2013 03:59PM

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Comment author: Eugine_Nier 17 February 2013 02:42:11AM 3 points [-]

A good way to find flaws in arguments: Take the argument to it's logical extreme, this likely results in an absurd conclusion. Now figure out why this conclusion is absurd and see if the same problem applies to the argument in the case under consideration.

When considering an abstract argument, it helps to keep a concrete example in mind.

Criticism is not censorship. (It's amazing how many flame wars seem to occur because the participants can't make this distinction.)