Either other people are convinced by Moron’s arguments, in which case you have to actually address them, and calling them a moron will only stand in the way. Or, no-one is
That no one is convinced by Moron’s arguments doesn’t mean that everyone has realized the true nature of Moron and his arguments. For example, there are many people who accept evolution but who see creationists as reasonable people whom they disagree with, rather than as the deluded ignoramuses that they usually are. Being too nice to idiots and crazies gives the impression that they are merely mistaken, rather than idiotic or crazy.
It’s still counterproductive. The trouble is, creationists are not crazy—not in the way that most people you might like to persuade would recognise. Creationism is crazy. Many people have trouble grasping that sane people can believe crazy things—and by calling the people crazy, you blur that understanding. This is in addition to the general bad effects documented in the post from calling people crazy.
The same applies to calling them stupid, only even more so.
I agree that sane people can believe crazy things, because everyone makes mistakes. The point expressed in the comment you’ve replied to is that, at least for adults living in the West, creationism is not merely a mistake.
In other words, I’m not saying that creationists are crazy because they believe something that’s contradicted by the evidence and is therefore very, very unlikely to be true. I’m saying they’re crazy because the thought processes that have kept them from rejecting creationism (after going off to college, say) are profoundly anti-rational. Isn’t having profoundly anti-rational thought processes a common definition of insanity?
I guess you could argue that creationists are only crazy in one part of their lives, not in all of it. Well, okay. I might point out that some mafiosi are only evil in one part of their lives, but are perfectly nice people the rest of the time, and yet we still consider them evil.
Most creationists (and tasseomancers, spiritual healers, and so forth) are crazy, not just mistaken, and pretending otherwise for the sake of niceness is what’s counterproductive, at least in the long run.
For example, there are many people who accept evolution but who see creationists as reasonable people whom they disagree with, rather than as the deluded ignoramuses that they usually are. Being too nice to idiots and crazies gives the impression that they are merely mistaken, rather than idiotic or crazy.
In these cases a rationalist has to choose between trying to convert the creationist (extremely unlikely, especially with onlookers) or demonstrating to onlookers that the creationist is an idiot and his views should be ignored. In most situations I would prioritize the latter. In these cases whether to be nice or not just depends on whether or not the on lookers will be okay with it. If they respect you already then being mean and insulting might make a lot of sense. If you are still trying to win the onlookers over being mean could turn them off.
Related: Is arguing for the audience instead of your interlocutor a dark art?
The only way you can reasonably hope to accomplish much by publicly arguing with a creationist is to go for the audience, not the creationist with whom you’re arguing. A lot of people don’t seem to realize this, and they see arguing with creationists as pointless because the creationist won’t be convinced. My experience suggests that you can sway the peanut gallery by making creationists look stupid.
The key to making creationists look stupid in public seems to be remaining calm and ostensibly polite (but making your comments increasingly barbed) while the creationist loses his cool and becomes more and more unhinged, and the audience cringes at the now-obvious lunacy and ignorance. You score points if you can do this without profanity or direct insult, which is surprisingly easy on the internet, where you can look up facts and work on your phrasing. I’m not sure where this fits on the spectrum of niceness; it’s not rude, per se, but it’s sure ugly.
That would be the fine art of being simultaneously meticulously polite and not at all nice, and is a subtle yet brutally effective way of tilting an audience in your favor completely independently of the soundness of your argument. Being good at reading someone well enough to figure out how to push their buttons without the audience noticing helps, as does having an opponent predisposed to being obnoxious/deranged/etc.
It’s worth noting that professional creationists (and other intelligent people out promoting ideologies) tend to be very good at this, because it is effective, and acting angry/rude to them is a good way to “lose” an argument even when correct.
That no one is convinced by Moron’s arguments doesn’t mean that everyone has realized the true nature of Moron and his arguments. For example, there are many people who accept evolution but who see creationists as reasonable people whom they disagree with, rather than as the deluded ignoramuses that they usually are. Being too nice to idiots and crazies gives the impression that they are merely mistaken, rather than idiotic or crazy.
It’s still counterproductive. The trouble is, creationists are not crazy—not in the way that most people you might like to persuade would recognise. Creationism is crazy. Many people have trouble grasping that sane people can believe crazy things—and by calling the people crazy, you blur that understanding. This is in addition to the general bad effects documented in the post from calling people crazy.
The same applies to calling them stupid, only even more so.
I don’t think you’ve understood my comment.
I agree that sane people can believe crazy things, because everyone makes mistakes. The point expressed in the comment you’ve replied to is that, at least for adults living in the West, creationism is not merely a mistake.
In other words, I’m not saying that creationists are crazy because they believe something that’s contradicted by the evidence and is therefore very, very unlikely to be true. I’m saying they’re crazy because the thought processes that have kept them from rejecting creationism (after going off to college, say) are profoundly anti-rational. Isn’t having profoundly anti-rational thought processes a common definition of insanity?
I guess you could argue that creationists are only crazy in one part of their lives, not in all of it. Well, okay. I might point out that some mafiosi are only evil in one part of their lives, but are perfectly nice people the rest of the time, and yet we still consider them evil.
Most creationists (and tasseomancers, spiritual healers, and so forth) are crazy, not just mistaken, and pretending otherwise for the sake of niceness is what’s counterproductive, at least in the long run.
In these cases a rationalist has to choose between trying to convert the creationist (extremely unlikely, especially with onlookers) or demonstrating to onlookers that the creationist is an idiot and his views should be ignored. In most situations I would prioritize the latter. In these cases whether to be nice or not just depends on whether or not the on lookers will be okay with it. If they respect you already then being mean and insulting might make a lot of sense. If you are still trying to win the onlookers over being mean could turn them off.
Related: Is arguing for the audience instead of your interlocutor a dark art?
The only way you can reasonably hope to accomplish much by publicly arguing with a creationist is to go for the audience, not the creationist with whom you’re arguing. A lot of people don’t seem to realize this, and they see arguing with creationists as pointless because the creationist won’t be convinced. My experience suggests that you can sway the peanut gallery by making creationists look stupid.
The key to making creationists look stupid in public seems to be remaining calm and ostensibly polite (but making your comments increasingly barbed) while the creationist loses his cool and becomes more and more unhinged, and the audience cringes at the now-obvious lunacy and ignorance. You score points if you can do this without profanity or direct insult, which is surprisingly easy on the internet, where you can look up facts and work on your phrasing. I’m not sure where this fits on the spectrum of niceness; it’s not rude, per se, but it’s sure ugly.
That would be the fine art of being simultaneously meticulously polite and not at all nice, and is a subtle yet brutally effective way of tilting an audience in your favor completely independently of the soundness of your argument. Being good at reading someone well enough to figure out how to push their buttons without the audience noticing helps, as does having an opponent predisposed to being obnoxious/deranged/etc.
It’s worth noting that professional creationists (and other intelligent people out promoting ideologies) tend to be very good at this, because it is effective, and acting angry/rude to them is a good way to “lose” an argument even when correct.