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> If you can’t read a generalisation without exploding in a rage of counter-examples, stop reading now…! What is the magic number of counter-examples at which
by JackFr 10y ago
> If you can’t read a generalisation without exploding in a rage of counter-examples, stop reading now…!
What is the magic number of counter-examples at which we can safely reject the generalisation? The warning at the top could read more briefly: 'The following is clever, but wrong.'
- maldusiecle 10y agoYeah, absolutely. I can't imagine anyone who has engaged with these philosophers at any length agreeing with what he's saying.
- munchbunny 10y agoGeneralizations are unavoidable if you want to engage a broader audience, but generalizations are also varying degrees of right and wrong, almost never entirely right or entirely wrong. To disagree with a generalization, just talk about how it's an unproductive generalization, probably because it leads to an incorrect conclusion. You'll need a few counter-examples to support your point, but if you jump in with counter-examples first, you're just missing the point of trying to pick the appropriate generalization to support a productive conversation.