Scott Alexander, curated
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Arguments From My Opponent Believes Something

Quality
58
Solid
Claude Shift
22
Slight
RWI
2
of 10

Summary

A taxonomy of ten "fully general" rhetorical moves that smuggle "my opponent believes X" into "X is a religion / dogma / fanaticism / blind faith / hatred", capped by a parody stacking all ten against the proposition that you should wear a coat when it's cold. The serious point (an edit): these accusations can be levelled at any belief, so arguments resting on them ("X is a religion") deserve heavy skepticism.

Why this score

Quality 58 · Solid. A sharp, quotable, genuinely funny crystallisation of a class of bad arguments, but very short and light - illustration rather than deep contribution. Upper Solid.

Claude’s paradigm shift 22 · Slight. The underlying idea (fully general counterarguments) was already standard LessWrong vocabulary; this is a witty application, not a new concept. Slight.

Real-world impact 2 · Minor. A sharp, funny taxonomy of ten 'X is a religion'-style fully-general rhetorical moves; a quotable crystallization within the discourse, no material-world reach → RWI 2.