There is an assumption in this article and many of the critiques in the comments that steelmanning is primarily useful for debating someone else. But debating i

There is an assumption in this article and many of the critiques in the comments that steelmanning is primarily useful for debating someone else. But debating is usually a trap where neither side achieves much. steelmanning is useful for having an actual conversation and to remind you in the words of Benjamin Franklin to "consult not contend". For me, most of the value of steelmanning is internal: questioning beliefs by dropping them and making the case for both sides. And when you find someone else doing this in their writing (for example Lyn Alden), you know you have found a useful source of information.