---
title: The Steel Man
published_at: 2016-08-06T17:33:13Z
---

While listening to Sam Harris' _Waking Up_ this morning, the debate technique
of a ["steel man"][steel-man] came up, which was new to me.

While the term of a "straw man" has now entered common vernacular, especially
in the computing industry, its opposite idea is much less common. The straw man
refers to building a position that mischaracterizes an opponent's view or is
otherwise easy to defeat, a steel man builds an argument that's _better_
constructed than an opponent can articulate themselves. Tearing it down is
proportionally more difficult, and doing so further solidifies your own
position.

[steel-man]: https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Steel_man

---
title: The Steel Man
published_at: 2016-08-06T17:33:13Z
hook: The foil of the straw man; a healthy technique for debate.
---

While listening to Sam Harris' _Waking Up_ this morning, the debate technique
of a ["steel man"][steel-man] came up, which was new to me.

While the term of a "straw man" has now entered common vernacular, especially
in the computing industry, its opposite idea is much less common. The straw man
refers to building a position that mischaracterizes an opponent's view or is
otherwise easy to defeat, a steel man builds an argument that's _better_
constructed than an opponent can articulate themselves. Tearing it down is
proportionally more difficult, and doing so further solidifies your own
position.

[steel-man]: https://wiki.lesswrong.com/wiki/Steel_man

Add hook to "The Steel Man"
Add hook to "The Steel Man"

[skip ci]


Former-commit-id: 012c04e7df5293fb8fa2a8bd12ed28a588d7282a