Thanks, I am glad to hear that. Am I correct in interpreting you to disagree with Said on this point, given this paragraph of his?
There is always an obligation by any author to respond to anyone’s comment along these lines. If no response is provided to (what ought rightly to be) simple requests for clarification (such as requests to, at least roughly, define or explain an ambiguous or questionable term, or requests for examples of some purported phenomenon), the author should be interpreted as ignorant.
Yes, I disagree with that as stated, although I would agree with a slightly softened version that replaced “the author should be interpreted as ignorant” with “the post should be regarded as less trustworthy”.
Thanks! And I think I also agree with the “the post should be regarded as less trustworthy” assessment, though my guess is we probably disagree some about the effect size of that.
Am I the only one who thinks that we shouldn’t be calculating points for and against based on commentary, but instead read the content (article and commentary) and think for ourselves?
That’s not what I’m saying. If someone posts a comment along the lines of “what about X?” and it goes unresponded to by the OP, that is not a point against the original article. Arguments are not soldiers. Leaving an argument undefended is not a surrender of territory to the enemy.
Rather you the reader should consider X, and decide for yourself its relevance.
I want to again draw your attention to this comment of mine. You are, it seems to me, interpreting the given quote much too narrowly (which was reasonable when I had just posted it, but is not reasonable now that I’ve clarified).
While I do agree that comment clarified some things, my sense is still that clone of saturn would disagree with that comment as written (though I am not confident, which is why I am asking for clarification).
In particular, in the absence of the two alternatives that you list that involve someone else answering the question at hand, you maintain that it is the obligation of the author to engage in any of the other four solutions you outline, all of which strike me as roughly equally costly to writing a response. So I don’t think it changes my perspective much.
Thanks, I am glad to hear that. Am I correct in interpreting you to disagree with Said on this point, given this paragraph of his?
Yes, I disagree with that as stated, although I would agree with a slightly softened version that replaced “the author should be interpreted as ignorant” with “the post should be regarded as less trustworthy”.
Thanks! And I think I also agree with the “the post should be regarded as less trustworthy” assessment, though my guess is we probably disagree some about the effect size of that.
Am I the only one who thinks that we shouldn’t be calculating points for and against based on commentary, but instead read the content (article and commentary) and think for ourselves?
Probably? Commentary is useful because most of us aren’t smart enough to anticipate all possible criticisms and responses to those criticisms.
That’s not what I’m saying. If someone posts a comment along the lines of “what about X?” and it goes unresponded to by the OP, that is not a point against the original article. Arguments are not soldiers. Leaving an argument undefended is not a surrender of territory to the enemy.
Rather you the reader should consider X, and decide for yourself its relevance.
Oh, I see. Yes, I was assuming in the context of this discussion that X is something you hadn’t already thought of, and do find relevant.
Sorry, I see the confusion. By “content” I meant both the article and it’s comments. I edited my comment to say as much.
I want to again draw your attention to this comment of mine. You are, it seems to me, interpreting the given quote much too narrowly (which was reasonable when I had just posted it, but is not reasonable now that I’ve clarified).
While I do agree that comment clarified some things, my sense is still that clone of saturn would disagree with that comment as written (though I am not confident, which is why I am asking for clarification).
In particular, in the absence of the two alternatives that you list that involve someone else answering the question at hand, you maintain that it is the obligation of the author to engage in any of the other four solutions you outline, all of which strike me as roughly equally costly to writing a response. So I don’t think it changes my perspective much.