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Unrelated but I absolutely love this reply from the previous time this was posted and someone complained about the line "most programmmers ...": > Try this on:

Unrelated but I absolutely love this reply from the previous time this was posted and someone complained about the line "most programmmers ...": > Try this on: "A non-trivial number of Computer Scientists, Computer Engineers, Electrical Engineers, and hobbyists have ..." > Took some philosophy courses for fun in college. I developed a reading skill there that lets me forgive certain statements by improving them instead of dismissing them. My brain now automatically translates over-generalizations and even outright falsehoods into rationally-nearby true statements. As the argument unfolds, those ideas are reconfigured until the entire piece can be evaluated as logically coherent. > The upshot is that any time I read a crappy article, I'm left with a new batch of true and false premises or claims about topics I'm interested in. And thus my mental world expands. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37969305 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37969305

ImHereToVote 2y ago
That's beautiful
dmichulke 2y ago
I know this process as steelmanning. https://umbrex.com/resources/tools-for-thinking/what-is-steelmanning/ https://umbrex.com/resources/tools-for-thinking/what-is-stee... If you see people doing this, befriend them because it means they're valuing knowledge higher than their ego.
- aquariusDue 2y ago
  Kinda reminds me of Rogerian rhetoric: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogerian_argument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogerian_argument I suppose it always depends on the goals of the conversation and the participants' greater view of the world. Your advice also seems similar to the sage wisdom along the lines of "It's the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it" but goes one step further. I generally agree with you, it truly is rare to find people who can put aside their ego for the pursuit of a higher (or common) goal.
amelius 2y ago
Seems in-line with this HN guideline: > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.

ImHereToVote 2y ago

That's beautiful

dmichulke 2y ago

I know this process as steelmanning. https://umbrex.com/resources/tools-for-thinking/what-is-steelmanning/ https://umbrex.com/resources/tools-for-thinking/what-is-stee... If you see people doing this, befriend them because it means they're valuing knowledge higher than their ego.

aquariusDue 2y ago
Kinda reminds me of Rogerian rhetoric: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogerian_argument https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rogerian_argument I suppose it always depends on the goals of the conversation and the participants' greater view of the world. Your advice also seems similar to the sage wisdom along the lines of "It's the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it" but goes one step further. I generally agree with you, it truly is rare to find people who can put aside their ego for the pursuit of a higher (or common) goal.

amelius 2y ago

Seems in-line with this HN guideline: > Please respond to the strongest plausible interpretation of what someone says, not a weaker one that's easier to criticize. Assume good faith.