If it's worth saying, but not worth its own post, then it goes here.
Notes for future OT posters:
1. Please add the 'open_thread' tag.
2. Check if there is an active Open Thread before posting a new one. (Immediately before; refresh the list-of-threads page before posting.)
3. Open Threads should start on Monday, and end on Sunday.
4. Unflag the two options "Notify me of new top level comments on this article" and "
I did not accuse you of that. I don't think you've done that. I said that Lumifer did it because, well, he did: I said "no one is proposing X", he said "what about A and B", I pointed out that A and B were not in fact proposing X, and he posted another seven instances of ... people not proposing X. A long sequence of bad arguments, made quickly but slower to answer: that is exactly what a Gish gallop is. I don't think you've been doing that, I don't think Lumifer usually does it, but on this occasion he did.
"Attempting to seize the intellectual high ground" = "attempting to frame the situation as one in which you are saying clever sensible things that the other guy is too stupid or blinkered or whatever to understand. "Unanswerable if you choose to make it so" because when you say "I don't think you have grasped my argument", any response I make can be answered with "No, sorry, I was right: you didn't understand my argument" -- regardless of what I actually have understood or not understood. (I suppose one indication of good or bad faith on your part, in that case, would be whether you then explain what it is that I allegedly didn't understand.)
I am greatly saddened, and somewhat puzzled, that you apparently think I might think the answer is no. (Actually, I don't think you think I might think the answer is no; I think you are grandstanding.) Anyway, for the avoidance of doubt, I have not the slightest interest in telling anyone else what they are allowed to believe, and if (e.g.) what I have said upthread about that paper about global warming has led you to think otherwise then either I have written unclearly or you have read uncharitably or both.
The problem here is unclarity on my part or obtuseness on yours, rather than obtuseness on my part or unclarity on yours :-).The bit about "being seen as rude" was not intended as a statement of your views or of your argument; it was part of my initial sketch of the class of situations to which those views and that argument apply. The point at which I start sketching what I think you were saying is where I say "Your principal point is, in these terms, ...".
Well, I was (deliberately) attempting to describe what I took to be your position on the general issue, rather than on what the authors of the article might or might not have done. (I am not all that interested in what you think they have done, since you've said you haven't actually looked at the article.) But it's entirely possible that I've failed to notice some key part of your argument, or forgotten to mention it even though if I'd been cleverer I would have. I don't suppose you'd like to explain what it is that I've missed?
Just in case anyone other than us is reading this, I would like to suggest that those hypothetical readers might like to look back at what I actually wrote and how you quoted it, and notice in particular that I explicitly said that I think your position probably isn't the one that "on the face of it you've suggested". (Though it was not previously clear to me that you think "external #2" is literally never a good idea. One reason is that it looks to me -- and still does after going back and rereading -- as if you explicitly said that you sometimes do it and consider it reasonable. See here and search for "A small minority".)
As to the other things you've said (e.g., asking whether and where and why I disagree with your position), I would prefer to let that wait until you have helped me fix whatever errors you have discerned in my understanding of your position and your argument. Having gone to the trouble of laying it out, it seems like it would be a waste not to do that, don't you think?
You've made specific mention of two errors. One (see above) wasn't ever meant to be describing your position, so that's OK. The other is that my description doesn't mention "the reason I do think they're making a mistake" (they = authors of that article whose title you've read); I don't know whether that's an error on my part, or merely something I didn't think warranted mentioning, but the easiest way to find out would be for you to say what that reason is.
Your other comments give the impression that there are other deficiencies (e.g., "It is far enough off that I can’t endorse it as “getting” where I’m coming from." and "It looks like you understand the one I do not hold, but do not realize that there is another, completely different, reason to not want to do #2 externally.") and I don't think it makes any sense to proceed without fixing this. (Where "this" is probably a lack of understanding on my part, but might also turn out to be that for one reason or another I didn't mention it, or that I wasn't clear enough in my description of what I took to be your position.) If we can't get to a point where we are both satisfied that I understand you adequately, we should give up.
(comment split because it got too long)
It’s neither. I have a hard time imagining that you could say no. I was just making sure to cover all the bases because I also have a hard time imagining that you could still say that I’m actively trying to claim anything after I’ve addressed that a couple times.
I bring it up because at this point, I’m not sure how... (read more)