Yes, it’s right up there with asking questions about the argument that you are uncertain about.
An aside; how often do you ask people to be quiet for a second so you can think about what they said? How many people are comfortable giving you that space?
It often happens to me that someone sees me stopped and staring into space thinking as a result of what they say, and conclude that what they said was a really strong argument for their position, where what’s actually happening is that they’ve revealed such a depth of confusion that I’m briefly lost looking where to start unpicking it.
If social context permits it, I often ask for detailed clarification of what people say, to unearth a suspected deeper disagreement, unexpected close agreement, or possible interesting idea. This may draw attention to a minor detail in a completely unrelated conversation and temporarily shift the discussion to that detail in isolation of the prior conversation. It’s sometimes hard to convince the interlocutor that the context of the prior discussion is really irrelevant for the new discussion, that it’s not acting as an argument for the chosen side of the debate. I would be shocked to find anyone I know in person to act in this manner.
My technique is get time is to say “wait” about ten times or until they stop and give me time to think. This probably won’t work for comment threads very well, but in reality not letting the person continue generally works.
Probably slightly rude, but more honest and likely less logically rude, a trade-off I can often live with.
That it most certainly isn’t! It indicates Progress. There is nothing the least bit empty about it!
Yes, it’s right up there with asking questions about the argument that you are uncertain about.
An aside; how often do you ask people to be quiet for a second so you can think about what they said? How many people are comfortable giving you that space?
It often happens to me that someone sees me stopped and staring into space thinking as a result of what they say, and conclude that what they said was a really strong argument for their position, where what’s actually happening is that they’ve revealed such a depth of confusion that I’m briefly lost looking where to start unpicking it.
If social context permits it, I often ask for detailed clarification of what people say, to unearth a suspected deeper disagreement, unexpected close agreement, or possible interesting idea. This may draw attention to a minor detail in a completely unrelated conversation and temporarily shift the discussion to that detail in isolation of the prior conversation. It’s sometimes hard to convince the interlocutor that the context of the prior discussion is really irrelevant for the new discussion, that it’s not acting as an argument for the chosen side of the debate. I would be shocked to find anyone I know in person to act in this manner.
My technique is get time is to say “wait” about ten times or until they stop and give me time to think. This probably won’t work for comment threads very well, but in reality not letting the person continue generally works. Probably slightly rude, but more honest and likely less logically rude, a trade-off I can often live with.