Wednesday, March 24, 2004

Charles' Rules of Argument

Charles Miller has written a great set of rules of argument. He's done a good job of distilling what happens in a typical technical argument. One good point that Charles makes is to avoid emotional involvement.
The ideal attitude to project during any argument is one of calm disinterest.
Easier said than done sometimes since disagreements tend to escalate into emotion.

Another good point Charles makes is to "severely limit what you end up arguing about". In other words, pick your battles. Don't seek out things to disagree with.