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Tenoke comments on The Rebuttal Repository - Less Wrong Discussion

11 Post author: peter_hurford 11 August 2013 06:59AM

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Comment author: Yvain 11 August 2013 07:39:44AM *  39 points [-]

I like this idea, but dislike inflation of the word "debunking".

Debunking means something was bunk and has now been conclusively proven wrong .Homeopathy has been debunked, creationism has been debunked, ESP has been debunked.

But when people say things like "Haven't you heard Searle debunked materialism?" or "Here's a link to an argument debunking Obamacare" it seems kind of like epistemological arrogance. It's not just "I disagree with you", but "There is no other side to this, it is now disproven in the same sense creationism is disproven and we can all go home."

I sort of accept the Myers-Briggs link as a debunking, because that fits the central category of "supposedly scientific theory that in fact has very poor support". The others seem more like controversial philosophical or political arguments. They're all really good controversial philosophical/political arguments I agree with, but I bet by the time this list reaches twenty entries some of them won't be.

I admit I don't have a better phrase. "Skeptical Argument Repository"?

Comment author: Tenoke 11 August 2013 10:55:49AM 3 points [-]

Don't worry. I predict that this repository (and some of the other ones) will be largely left unused.