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query comments on Six Ways To Get Along With People Who Are Totally Wrong* - Less Wrong Discussion
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Here is my favorite method -
Situation: Someone says something totally cuckoo crazy but they are someone I have to cooperate with in order to complete a task or who I have to maintain a good social relationship because we share friends or because they are otherwise cool. Also, the person is not convincible (I hang with hippies, this happens a lot).
Solution: a conspiratory shrug followed by "ehh... who can say, really" or "eh... the world is a strange place" or, if the statement is totally super crazy, just "ehh..."
Examples:
"I switched to a gluten free diet and I think my energy centers really cleared up!" shrug "ehh... the world is a strange place"
"Why do people say its strange that I named my baby Glutenball? They just don't understand how gluten symbolizes the glue that holds us all together!" shrug "ehh... who can say really?"
"9/11 was a conspiracy by the gluten lobby!" shrug "ehh..."
Seconded! Another phrase (whose delivery might be hard to convey in text) is "Look, I dunno, but anyways..."
Maybe the big idea is to come across as not expressing much interest in the claim, instead of opposing the claim? I think most people are happy to move on with the conversation when they get a "move on" signal, and we exchange these signals all the time.
I also like that this is an honest way to think about: I really am not interested in what I expect will happen with that conversation (even if I am interested in the details of countering your claim.)