← Steelman · Lesson 1 of 3
Say it back until they nod
The philosopher Daniel Dennett set out a short list he called Rapoport's rules, after the game theorist Anatol Rapoport. The first rule is the hardest: before you criticise a view, say it back so clearly and fairly that the other person wishes they had put it that way.
The test is the nod. If they say "yes, that is what I mean", you have understood. If they say "not quite", you try again. Nothing else happens until the nod.
This is called steelmanning: building the strongest version of the other view, the opposite of knocking down a weak one.
Your friend argues that phones should be banned at dinner. Which reply is a steelman?
A lesson is kept once you've answered the question and written at least 8 words. Nobody grades it; it stays on this device.