This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
I'm sorry dude, but you are exhibiting exactly why the "rationalist" community often has a terrible reputation for autistic (and usually incorrect/nonsensical, as in this case) nitpicking and an inability to comprehend basic context, and given that trying to make somebody so committed to being so dense understand is usually as annoying as trying to shave a tiny but ornery chihuahua's balls without hurting them, especially on this site with its rules, I'm afraid that I can't engage with you any further.
But I'll give you one hint: I never once said that the monetary award should be merely reduced. That is simply not in my posts at all. I know, because I just reread them to see if maybe I gave that misleading impression. Rather, I merely expressed that I thought the verdict was too much, and you somehow autistically interpreted that to mean that I could only have a reduced verdict and not no verdict (or no case at all) as my highest preference, even though that doesn't fit any reasonable model of human behavior.
You do realize that people who prefer less X often prefer no X even to that, and that this is not any sort of a contradiction even if your mental model is that their prior statements only implied less X, right? Again, that's basic behavior. If someone says "There's hundreds of roaches in here!", reducing the number to only 50 probably isn't going to completely satisfy them still. There's a good chance they prefer zero. You might disagree, but their response isn't surprising or nonsensical.
I am not attempting to sneer or insult you at all when I link this (especially since, like most people on this site, I'm sure I'm not entirely off the spectrum, though not to the level demonstrated): https://exceptionalindividuals.com/candidates/neurodiversity-resources/neurodiversity-quizzes/aspergers-quiz-test/ You're displaying a genuinely high and concerning degree of communicative obtuseness.
TBH, I think you are the one who is exhibiting those tendencies, when you say, "I didn't say the award should be reduced! I said it was too much."
You know, I incorrectly paraphrased myself. I didn't even say it was "too much" initially. I said it was "insane". Again, the fact that you think that only a reduced amount of X and not no X could follow from somebody saying that an amount of X is "insane" is on you.
I neither think nor said that, and in fact said the exact opposite: "My point is not that your statements are logically inconsistent, but rather that your statement made no sense as a response to what I said."
And, the fact that you think there is a meaningful difference between "the amount is too high" and "the amount is insane" is, as you say, on you.
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link
More options
Context Copy link