My recent speaking engagement at Oxford University, the various ne'er-do-wells claiming I am a fascist, and why politics attracts toxic personalities. Plus, protocols to help us remain good faith actors and not drink deep of the bile.
THE HEATON PROTOCOLS
The Charitable Principle: When someone says something ambiguous, assume the best interpretation
Don't attempt mind reading
Judge policies by outcome, judge people by intention
Beware the In-Group / Out-Group Mirage
Hanlon's Razor: Never attribute to malice what can be explained by incompetence
Picture the top 10% of a group, not the bottom
Binary thinking is stupid and reductive
Go for the ball, not the player
Avoid logical fallacies
Invoke identity to expand conversation, not to shut it down
Don't make people feel bad about things they can't control
Steel man arguments, don't straw man
Good and intelligent people can disagree on matters of substance
"I don't want to be wrong any longer than I have to be"
Avoid contempt like the plague
Share this post