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That only works if your opponent is playing along. I don't mean they have to be nice or civil, but they do have to be consistent. There's no point trying to e
by ineptech 4y ago
That only works if your opponent is playing along. I don't mean they have to be nice or civil, but they do have to be consistent. There's no point trying to e.g. establish shared definitions for a key term if your opponent is not bound by it. At best, steelmanning might help you realize you're talking to someone who is not acting in good faith slightly faster.
- verdagon 4y agoIf you ask your opponent, "Just so I understand, are you saying ___?", they'll usually help you understand what they're claiming. People generally like to be heard and understood, even if they violently disagree with you. There's the occasional troll who is intentionally wasting your time, but I find that to be pretty rare, especially on HN. People are most often just bad at communication, not malicious.