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I am a bit puzzled that learning to admit that you are wrong is sometimes treated as attaining some kind of superpower. I would say it is just part of growing u
by kieckerjan 4y ago
I am a bit puzzled that learning to admit that you are wrong is sometimes treated as attaining some kind of superpower. I would say it is just part of growing up. (Having said that, some people seem to never grow up.)
- roenxi 4y ago"This is true" and "Let us imagine that this is true" are radically, radically different positions. People who have a nuanced enough understanding to separate the two in an argument are rare. Entertaining the even more nuanced idea that someone else has a strong argument that is wrong is, effectively, a superpower. Not many people who are willing to argue can do that. Especially if they are capable of doing that in a persuasive, public fashion.
- swayvil 4y ago>"This is true" and "Let us imagine that this is true" are radically, radically different positions. What's the difference? Unintentional pretence vs intentional pretence? Strong imagining vs weak imagining? Both make an assertion. Both assign a degree of confidence.
- zmgsabst 4y agoThe second isn’t an assertion, it’s a hypothetical. Eg, “let’s imagine that elves are real” is distinct from “elves are real”.
- swayvil 4y agoIt's a confidence-modulated assertion. Hypothesis is low confidence. Fact is high confidence. There is no magic point at which hypothesis suddenly becomes fact. It's simply a matter of confidence.
- zmgsabst 4y agoIt’s confidence independent: “Let X” is a context bound hypothetical — we’re assuming it is true within some argument; we have perfect confidence in the hypothetical, but only within that context. That’s distinct from an assertion, which is a statement about how the world is with some associated confidence.
- lostmsu 4y agoHave you never seen proofs by contradiction?
- Riverheart 4y ago"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." Aristotle Not confidence, acceptance.
- dan-robertson 4y agoIt’s not about admitting that you’re wrong. It’s about discovering what the right answer is without being swayed towards the thing you previously thought/said. To be in a position to admit that you’re wrong you’ve already got to be trying to argue that you’re right.
- bdefore 4y agoWhat is growing up?
- Psyladine 4y agoRealizing how pointless all of this is, for one.
- swayvil 4y agoGiven that the method of engineering generally starts with something like, "These various assertions and principals may be taken as gospel". So admitting you might be wrong is like reversing gospel. And reversing gospel is quite a feat. And HN is filled with engineers.
- feet 4y agoThere's also the consideration that literal religious gospel is taken as fact by some people who use that assumption to push particular ideas in government and law
- spacemanmatt 4y agoI couldn't invent a more suckass attitude for engineers to hold, but it is indeed common. I find it less common among really good engineers. YMMV.