Scientific Definition
Restating the strongest version of your opponent's argument before responding.
Plain-English Definition
Restating the strongest version of your opponent's argument before responding.
Feynman Explanation
If you can't pass their argument back to them better than they made it, you're not ready to disagree.
Core Principle
Restating the strongest version of your opponent's argument before responding.
Mechanisms
Restating the strongest version of your opponent's argument before responding.
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Inputs (Triggers)
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Outputs (Behaviors)
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Behavioral Signature
If you can't pass their argument back to them better than they made it, you're not ready to disagree.
Examples
- Before refuting the CFO, the CEO restates her case more persuasively than she did.
- Debate quality 10x's when steelmanning is the room norm.
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Famous Experiments
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Design Principles
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Measurement Approaches
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Evidence
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The Perverse Incentive Lens™
How this behavior is exploited — and how to redesign around it.
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Interactive Mini Network
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Knowledge Graph Neighbors
Auto-linked to the rest of the Human Behavior Taxonomy by family, domain, dimension, and shared keywords.
Attacking the person rather than the argument.
It's true because authority says so.
Common sense says so, therefore it's true.
Believing something is true because of the consequences of its truth.
Claiming something is true because it hasn't been proven false (or vice versa).
If it's 'natural,' it's good.
It's better because it's newer.
It's right because it's how we've always done it.
I can't believe it; therefore it isn't true.
Saying it enough times until it sounds true.
It's true because many believe it.
Asking the other side to disprove an unsupported claim.