How To Argue – The Hierarchy of Disagreement
It might sound counterintuitive, but disagreeing is a more productive skill than agreeing. Agreement neither stimulates nor produces any new value. It’s flat; however, disagreeing the right way, can increase productivity.
Below, you can see a visualisation of a 2008 Paul Graham essay where he classifies the ways of arguing a point; and suggests that they should form a hierarchy based on their strength and frequency of use:
- Ad Hominem.
- Responding to Tone.
- Refuting the Central Point.