Sometimes I ask questions that look rhetorical but aren’t, and when I notice myself doing this I append something like “not a rhetorical question, I actually want to know” at the end.
I’m reluctant to give some of the examples I have in mind, to avoid bring up past unpleasantness. Also I wrote this a couple of months ago, and forgot to make note of some the examples I had observed back then that in part made me write it. But what made me recall this draft and post it today was IlyaShpitser’s comment that apparently interpreted my question as a defense of LessWrong.
As you often say, how about some examples of this happening?
Eliezer asked Abram a question out of curiosity, and Abram thought it might be a challenge or rhetorical technique.
Sometimes I ask questions that look rhetorical but aren’t, and when I notice myself doing this I append something like “not a rhetorical question, I actually want to know” at the end.
How do you recognize when your question will be interpreted as rhetorical? ibid.
Experience? My main heuristic is something like “if I imagine someone saying this, do they have a smug look on their face?”
I’m reluctant to give some of the examples I have in mind, to avoid bring up past unpleasantness. Also I wrote this a couple of months ago, and forgot to make note of some the examples I had observed back then that in part made me write it. But what made me recall this draft and post it today was IlyaShpitser’s comment that apparently interpreted my question as a defense of LessWrong.