One Less Myth

One Less Myth is a project to distill topics to some of their best arguments. So many arguments, online or amongst friends, tread the same paths repeatedly. They also tend to stumble in clarifying the terms, or wandering across multiple topics. Clearly communicating the most common positions on a topic can assist in having more productive discussions.

Presenting concise summations lowers the bar needed to engage with more complex ideas. The goal is that these presentations would serve as a starting point for understanding and exploring new perspectives on old ideas.

Aren't the chats just straw manning the viewpoints you don't like?

There is a real risk of straw manning. These are based on years of discussions, and are presented in good faith. Canned "conversations" cannot anticipate everyone's positions, or even the nuance of those positions. That's true for both "sides" of a conversation. Simply because a chat doesn't fully encapsulate your own particular nuance view does not mean that the argument is a straw man.

Isn't this just dumbing complex positions down to sound bites? What about the harm to nuance?

It's important to recognize that no one approach is the perfect way to engage on topics. This intends to serve as one of many ways to engage with certain topics in specific scenarios. Perhaps it's best to think of it as an introductory tool, not the only tool in our toolbelt.