I was hoping that this post would be something of a Defense against the Dark Arts post, but it doesn’t seem to be:
[Dawkins saying “I do not intend to disparage trans people…”]
This doesn’t work. People see through it. It comes across as either dishonest or oblivious, and both make you look bad. If you want to genuinely engage in mistake theory discourse, do it in spaces where that’s actually the norm—academic seminars, private discussions, carefully-gated intellectual communities. Don’t perform neutrality in conflict arenas while making moves that clearly serve specific interests.
Suppose he actually wants to take the other side down a peg.
It seems to me that the only people who object to him playing power games are postmodernists, who think, by and large, that all communication is power games.
What is there to lose by playing power games with people who think that roughly all communication is power games?
What is there to lose by playing power games with people who think that roughly all communication is power games?
Well for one thing, it can get you dragged into negative-sum power games. Like with gambling, if you don’t know what your edge is, you’re better off not playing. If there isn’t a clear way that getting into a Twitter argument about transgenderism helps you accomplish your goals, then in the typical case you waste your time, and you take on a tail risk of ruining your reputation. It’s foolish to take that risk if it doesn’t come with enough potential upside to make it +EV.
If you’re already stuck in such a power game, then by all means play it as such, but don’t go seeking them out.
I was hoping that this post would be something of a Defense against the Dark Arts post, but it doesn’t seem to be:
Suppose he actually wants to take the other side down a peg.
It seems to me that the only people who object to him playing power games are postmodernists, who think, by and large, that all communication is power games.
What is there to lose by playing power games with people who think that roughly all communication is power games?
Well for one thing, it can get you dragged into negative-sum power games. Like with gambling, if you don’t know what your edge is, you’re better off not playing. If there isn’t a clear way that getting into a Twitter argument about transgenderism helps you accomplish your goals, then in the typical case you waste your time, and you take on a tail risk of ruining your reputation. It’s foolish to take that risk if it doesn’t come with enough potential upside to make it +EV.
If you’re already stuck in such a power game, then by all means play it as such, but don’t go seeking them out.