It’s almost certainly true that the author would rather promote his books at Dragoncon. I think the right question is closer to “How can we find out what this true thing might imply?”.
So, if I have a belief, or if someone else mentions one, I think “How would I notice?” and try to imagine, if I wandered into this topic with no background knowledge, what I would encounter naturally or have to research in order to decide the question.
I also like it because it mutes any feelings of defensiveness (for me anyway) that “Oh yeah, prove it!” usually implies. How would I notice also gives me room to mention things I’d notice that would point me the other way, since it feels more like a walk/story/narrative than an argument.
Agreed. The reason I stuck with the simpler question is because you need to move your audience from A to B, not A to C. If you get them to B, then I think that can also get them to C, as that question can be applied to whatever reaction they have to the author’s preference. If they think “it’s true that the author prefers to promote his books at Dragoncon, and so he’ll never get value out of my convention,” they can respond “is that true?”. (Your question is a more targeted version of that.)
“Is it true?” isn’t specific enough.
It’s almost certainly true that the author would rather promote his books at Dragoncon. I think the right question is closer to “How can we find out what this true thing might imply?”.
Yeah, I like “How would I notice?” a lot.
So, if I have a belief, or if someone else mentions one, I think “How would I notice?” and try to imagine, if I wandered into this topic with no background knowledge, what I would encounter naturally or have to research in order to decide the question.
I also like it because it mutes any feelings of defensiveness (for me anyway) that “Oh yeah, prove it!” usually implies. How would I notice also gives me room to mention things I’d notice that would point me the other way, since it feels more like a walk/story/narrative than an argument.
Agreed. The reason I stuck with the simpler question is because you need to move your audience from A to B, not A to C. If you get them to B, then I think that can also get them to C, as that question can be applied to whatever reaction they have to the author’s preference. If they think “it’s true that the author prefers to promote his books at Dragoncon, and so he’ll never get value out of my convention,” they can respond “is that true?”. (Your question is a more targeted version of that.)