Epistemic status: Tested in an environment very favorable to its success.

Guys, I know it’s hard to believe and I’m sure very few of us have experience with it, but sometimes the people around us have opinions we think are really stupid.

Fortunately, there’s an easy solution to this problem. It’s a well-established fact that telling people they’re Hitler immediately converts them to your side of the issue.

Rationalists are supposed to discuss topics with the goal of finding the truth. Non-rationalists are supposed to discuss topics with the goal of convincing others they’re right (or at least I assume that if you asked they’d say that, not “WE MUST POUND OUR ENEMIES INTO THE EARTH!”). Neither of these two goals is fulfilled when debates turn acrimonious, when we respond to disagreement with fury or to fury with more fury. People who perceive enemy fire drop their original goals in the process of picking up their laser blasters. I’m gonna go really radical here and say that setting yourself against someone is not a great way to make them honestly consider your points. And that this is obvious enough that people who do it anyway have probably lost sight of their priorities. And that forgetting what you’re trying to do is really bad if you want to actually do it. Maybe some people enjoy this kind of argument, and maybe there are social benefits to showing that certain opinions will be shouted down. But it's still better to convert your enemies than to shut them up.

So I present to you: niceness stealth-bombing.

Niceness stealth-bombing slips quietly under the “enemy argument” radar, so confirmation bias and all its friends don’t know to shoot it out of the sky. The military metaphors end there, because stealth-bombing means finding a point at which we’re all on the same side.

The trick is to communicate specific disagreement, but broader support. You have to demonstrate to the other person that you share a goal with them, and that you think your idea will help them reach that goal. You also have to communicate that you see them as an ally, that you recognize they're also playing for the good guys. “It’s awesome that you care enough about helping people to give up your own money for strangers. I just think that checking out GiveWell would help you help people even more.” Or “I agree with you that x-risks sound pretty crazy, I totally reacted the same way w...

Posts

Wikitag Contributions

Comments

Posts

Wikitag Contributions

Comments