There's too much online discussion where the topic at hand is reinvented from first principles again, and again, and again, in what can at best be described as a strenous relationship to actual reality as every debateperson is loaded with the assumption that they are imbued with the sum total of human knowledge and therefore must never read any material on anything other than other peoples posts that are also reinvented from first principles

These people should all be shamed away from participating in any discussion until they better themselves, which is what lurk moar did.

  • goose [he/him]
    ·
    11 months ago

    I'm very much in favor of asking earnest questions.

    • It's comforting to see people who are interested in learning more about a subject and seek to grow as people (and as comrades)
    • It helps me feel empowered to ask a question that I might otherwise be embarrassed to ask
    • If I know the answer, it helps me organize my jumbled thoughts on the matter into a cogent response
    • If I think I know the answer but have trouble putting together a response, it reveals a gap in my knowledge or thinking

    I do like the idea of pointing people toward previous discussions that turned out to be very helpful. Certain topics tend to follow the same path, and reading through a good discussion can scratch an itch that books or essays can't quite reach.

    But even if the exact same discussion is created from whole cloth over and over, it's not a wasted effort if the people involved come out of it thinking more clearly.