Evolution?

I used to post a lot on an internet message board about Magic cards. I was good at the game and acquired a strong reputation among local magic players as well as with the people on that board. Being famous to a few hundred people can actually be really cool.

I went back and read some of the things I wrote all the way back in 2003.

This was back when I didn't read much and wasn't overly self-conscious about my writing (I didn't think I had any capabilities--hasn't changed, but I'm self-conscious now). I had a very certain style. I would make a statement and then I would appeal to the logos. It's weird how consistent this was.

I was a lot more persuasive then than I am now. I've gotten to the point where everything I think seems self-evident. I've lost the ability to use an explanatory process for these things. It's like I've lost my ability for partisanship. That seems self-evident, but...

Let me try to explain. You know about in-group loyalty, right? (it's the thing where you want to help a member of your own group more than a stranger) Now imagine you're voluntarily join a political party (hence partisan). Surely you wish to further the causes of your party. Surely you wish to promote them. You will argue against its detractors and support your fellow members. Now, what if, one day, you see a bad policy objective? You want to be a good party member, but you worry that the party has gone in the wrong direction. This policy seems like it would go against the aims you thought the party stands for. You criticize it. You point out its flaw. What have you just done? You've just eliminated your partisanship. And with it, some of the trust of your fellow party members. Ouch.

(Mix in a healthy respect for individual agency and you have a skeptical libertarian)

I WANT TO BE PERSUASIVE AGAIN!