Wednesday, January 17th, 2007

How not to argue

120 words

This page of insiduous argumentative tactics amused me. Note that the intention is that you recognise these and avoid using them. Alas there’s no advice on how to counteract them.

You have my permission to use the “NAME IT” technique when you encounter Stakhanovism.

Also, I take issue with the criticism of “We need to define just exactly what you mean by _________.“. The meanings of words can be very subjective and many misunderstandings have their roots in imprecise definitions. For example, I’m pretty sure that when I say I believe in evolution, that “believe” has a different meaning to the “believe” of a person who believes in God. Not realising this might explain why some people see atheism as a faith.

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