Real talk time:
"Just asking questions" is a weapon. We know full-well that some people exploit it to feign innocence when deliberately throwing noise into discussions. And it works in large part because it encourages otherwise earnest discussions which then contribute to the noise.
So be careful.
@larsmb I am not talking about sealioning. That person knows what they're doing and doesn't need anyone to tell them to be careful.
I'm talking about people engaging in conversations about things which are technically true but don't actually matter. We need to get better at recognizing when things are irrelevant and let them drop out of the conversation, because earnest people who don't do this unwittingly bring fodder to the disinformers of the world.
Let me give you an example:
@larsmb This post was spurred by a convo on a different platform.
It is true that to electrify everything as we need to do, we will face challenges. But if all you can do is ask "will the power grid be able to keep up with demand?" without realizing that A) yes, it always has B) it must if we are to meet the goal anyway and C) given A and B this question doesn't actually need to be asked, then you're giving credit to the opposition & also worsening the doom spiral which makes us feel powerless.
I've noticed that the hardest part of replying to a question on the Internet is replying to the question asked, not the question one wanted, or refraining from suggesting a different question instead. Or replying with something from the first five search results. I know, you're social, you want to be nice, but please. ABSTAIN. Folks. YOU'RE NOT BEING HELPFUL. You're creating ADDITIONAL WORK for a person who already has an unanswered question. "Would my response help me in their situation?"
Technology Connections
Lars Marowsky-Brée 😷