A looser, less perfect, but more easily applicable and economical heuristic that I have is:
- Is my (layperson) interlocutor mostly contrarian and skeptical of others? Then there is very little chance that trying to point them in the right direction will be productive. Being a reasonable contrarian requires a very high level of expertise.
- Is my interlocutor mostly curious and skeptical of their own understanding? Then my friend, this person is a rare golden perl, and I will spare no effort or patience, because in almost every case these people are the ones who haven’t lost the capacity to learn.
A looser, less perfect, but more easily applicable and economical heuristic that I have is:
- Is my (layperson) interlocutor mostly contrarian and skeptical of others? Then there is very little chance that trying to point them in the right direction will be productive. Being a reasonable contrarian requires a very high level of expertise.
- Is my interlocutor mostly curious and skeptical of their own understanding? Then my friend, this person is a rare golden perl, and I will spare no effort or patience, because in almost every case these people are the ones who haven’t lost the capacity to learn.