That’s a good point, before steelmanning someone’s position one has to understand it properly, including where the person is coming from, a sort of topical Turing test.
That’s charity, potentially useful for participating in the conversation, not so much for steelmanning considered on its own. Taking inspiration from a mysterious utterance to create something more natural from your own perspective doesn’t require engaging with the intent of the utterance. The rhetorical use of steelmanned ideas doesn’t have to be baked into the concept.
That’s a good point, before steelmanning someone’s position one has to understand it properly, including where the person is coming from, a sort of topical Turing test.
That’s charity, potentially useful for participating in the conversation, not so much for steelmanning considered on its own. Taking inspiration from a mysterious utterance to create something more natural from your own perspective doesn’t require engaging with the intent of the utterance. The rhetorical use of steelmanned ideas doesn’t have to be baked into the concept.