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ChristianKl comments on Rationality Quotes from people associated with LessWrong - Less Wrong Discussion
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If idiots do exist, and you have reason to conclude that someone is an idiot, then you shouldn't deny that conclusion -- at least when you subscribe to an epistemic primacy: that forming true beliefs takes precedence over other priorities.
The quote is suspiciously close to being a specific application of "Don't like reality? Pretend it's different!"
The term 'idiot' contains a value judgement that a certain person isn't worth arguing with. It's more than just seeing the other person has having an IQ of 70.
Trying to understand the world view of someone with an IQ of 70 might still provide for an interesting conversation.
Except that often it can't be avoided/ is "worth" it if only for status/hierarchy squabbling reasons (i.e. even when the arguments' contents don't matter).
That's why it's not a good idea to think of others as idiots.
Indeed, just as it can be smart to "forget" when you have a terminal condition. The "pretend it's different" from my ancestor comment sometimes works fine from an instrumental rationality perspective, just not from an epistemic one.
Whether someone is worth arguing with is a subjective value judgement.
And given your values you'd ideally arrive at those through some process other than the one you use to judge, say, a new apartment?
I think that trying to understand the worldview of people who are very different from you is often useful.
Trying to explain ideas in a way that you never explained them before can also be useful.
I agree. I hope I didn't give the impression that I didn't. Usefulness belongs to instrumental rationality more so than to epistemic rationality.