And wouldn’t this imply that discussing politics is a much more challenging test of your skills as a rationalist, much the better to refine those skills?
Not exclusively so. Discussing politics (or more to the point, doing politics) in anything approaching a rational way involves a variety of skills in mediation, adaptation, compromise, creative thinking and so on. There’s nothing wrong with developing these skills persay, but LW is not the most appropriate site for doing this. We would be far better off with a specialized effort.
But I didn’t discuss doing politics, I discussed discussing politics. In fact, being able to make the distinction is probably the first step in keeping politics from becoming a mind killer.
But I didn’t discuss doing politics, I discussed discussing politics. In fact, being able to make the distinction is probably the first step in keeping politics from becoming a mind killer.
The problem is, you may think you’re only discussing politics, but some politically minded folks might show up at any moment and take issue with your “discussion” or try to bias it toards their preferred side. Historically, that’s the reason freedom of speech is expressly recognized as a basic right in constitutional law. Politically minded folks wanting to participate in an online discussion are not quite the same as oppressive rulers, but they’re still annoying, and it makes sense to deal with them in a way that will boost our real-world credibility.
In any politically-charged discussion, we’d need to assume the worst, i.e. that we’re actually exerting some kind of real-world influence, with all that entails.
Not exclusively so. Discussing politics (or more to the point, doing politics) in anything approaching a rational way involves a variety of skills in mediation, adaptation, compromise, creative thinking and so on. There’s nothing wrong with developing these skills persay, but LW is not the most appropriate site for doing this. We would be far better off with a specialized effort.
But I didn’t discuss doing politics, I discussed discussing politics. In fact, being able to make the distinction is probably the first step in keeping politics from becoming a mind killer.
The problem is, you may think you’re only discussing politics, but some politically minded folks might show up at any moment and take issue with your “discussion” or try to bias it toards their preferred side. Historically, that’s the reason freedom of speech is expressly recognized as a basic right in constitutional law. Politically minded folks wanting to participate in an online discussion are not quite the same as oppressive rulers, but they’re still annoying, and it makes sense to deal with them in a way that will boost our real-world credibility.
In any politically-charged discussion, we’d need to assume the worst, i.e. that we’re actually exerting some kind of real-world influence, with all that entails.