This technique really changed the way I engage with others' ideas [0], the way I approach language design [1], and even my relationships. It's so easy for us humans to get caught in a "me vs. you" mentality, but steel-manning really helps break out of that pattern and meaningfully connect with what others are saying.
It also unlocks the next level of rationality: the ability to admit you're wrong. After that one just needs to learn to actively test their own beliefs, and they can harness the true powers of the human mind.
My favorite snippet from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: [2]
"But make no mistake, Draco, true science really isn't like magic, you can't just do it and walk away unchanged like learning how to say the words of a new spell. The power comes with a cost, a cost so high that most people refuse to pay it."
Draco nodded at this as though, finally, he'd heard something he could understand. "And that cost?"
"Learning to admit you're wrong."
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31937109
[1] https://vale.dev/
[2] https://www.hpmor.com/chapter/7
It also unlocks the next level of rationality: the ability to admit you're wrong. After that one just needs to learn to actively test their own beliefs, and they can harness the true powers of the human mind.
My favorite snippet from Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality: [2]
"But make no mistake, Draco, true science really isn't like magic, you can't just do it and walk away unchanged like learning how to say the words of a new spell. The power comes with a cost, a cost so high that most people refuse to pay it."
Draco nodded at this as though, finally, he'd heard something he could understand. "And that cost?"
"Learning to admit you're wrong."
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=31937109
[1] https://vale.dev/
[2] https://www.hpmor.com/chapter/7