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>> You know, writing like a high school sophomore on a message board. Ad-hominem, man in the arena, etc.
by joshcsimmons 4y ago
>> You know, writing like a high school sophomore on a message board.
Ad-hominem, man in the arena, etc.
- tptacek 4y ago"This argument is written and reasoned like that of a high school sophomore" is, believe it or not, not an ad-hominem argument.
- matthewrobertso 4y ago"sort of comically smug"
- tptacek 4y agoAlso not an ad-hominem argument! In fact, it's even less of an ad-hominem argument than "written like a teenager" is. And it is in fact smug!
- colpabar 4y agoI mean I think the point is that the top comment for this article is now about the tone of the article rather than the contents. You yourself say there are valid criticisms to be made, so why not do that and compare them to the article instead?
- tptacek 4y agoBecause my point is that the argument is bad, not whatever else you want it to be.
- matt-attack 4y agoNonetheless, critiquing the writing style rather than the substance makes it seem like you've lost the argument from the start.
- pseudalopex 4y agoThey called the substance axiomatic and much of it depending on specific definitions of specific words.
- tptacek 4y agoWell... they sure think their argument is axiomatic.
- PuppyTailWags 4y agoCritiquing the style of a persuasive essay makes a lot of sense to me, however, because it accurately points out a flaw that will make it less successful according to this specific reader.
- matt-attack 4y agoI'd suggest that if a reader is less successful at grasping the crux of an essay due solely to the writing style, that merely points out a failing of the reader. Digesting essays of varying styles is an important skill that one needs as an academic. That skill needs to be fostered.
- PuppyTailWags 4y agoBut this isn't an academic context; this is a substack essay published on the internet for some internet denizens to read. In this case it makes a lot of sense to ask whether or not the essay succeeds at being persuasive, in the way it makes sense to critique whether or not a speech is delivered well. A public speaker can make a great point, but if they vomit on themselves halfway through the point, it makes sense to go "well, maybe we should address to vomiting thing" instead of "disgust in someone's vomiting on themselves is a failure of the audience".
- wonnage 4y agoIt’s a low-effort substack troll post, it’s not that complicated