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If I am arguing with someone and I change my mind as a result of the argument, I consider myself to have "won" because I gained knowledge. If we accept all bel
by grandalf 12y ago
If I am arguing with someone and I change my mind as a result of the argument, I consider myself to have "won" because I gained knowledge.
If we accept all beliefs as provisional and only look to the argument as a method of hypothesis testing, it can be part of a group's rational process.
However in my opinion the best way to approach group decision making is to acknowledge that all decisions have tradeoffs and then evaluate various ideas based on their relative tradeoffs.
Teams with a bullying culture find the tradeoff matrix annoying because it deflates the intimidation tactics that some members use to get their way and shut other people down. For an example just bring up Mongodb.
- anaximander 12y agoThis is an excellent perspective. Those tradeoffs are often the root of these arguments anyway: Alice comes up with a solution that has some advantage x. Bob comes up with a solution that has some advantage y. They'll argue endlessly because neither one of them will say "Oh you're right, I didn't consider x" or "I like your solution, but I don't know what's more important: x or y. Let's focus on determining that instead."
- grandalf 12y ago> "I like your solution, but I don't know what's more important: x or y. Let's focus on determining that instead." Yes exactly. If only people were more rational, solution oriented, and humble. Engineering is about design within tradeoffs.