From: Charlie Stross (charlie@antipope.org)
Date: Tue Feb 06 2001 - 14:23:35 MST
On Tue, Feb 06, 2001 at 02:59:28PM -0500, Eliezer S. Yudkowsky wrote:
>
> So technophobes, who don't even have the concepts to describe those kind
> of scruples, much less be bound by them, can tear the living daylights out
> of technophiles on television; a technophobe can fire off ten strongly
> resonating arguments in the time it takes a technophile to describe vis
> initial assumptions.
Spot on.
This also pinpoints the differentiating characteristic of propaganda,
as distinct from rational debate.
The answer is therefore to have both sets of arguments ready. (Yeah, I
know this means doing more work than the technophobes!) Start out by
sounding calm, cool, and rational -- but go for some below-the-belt
"without antibiotics/GM foods/nanotechnology my baby girl/cat/AI would
be d-e-a-d" emotional blackmail if the other side tries the emotional
attack.
-- Charlie
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