I had an idea to help conversations flow a little easier. There is a pattern I see often, and it goes something like this. Dude discovers TRP, and after a few days/weeks of participating, begins making some grand pronouncements about women. Never mind a few hours ago he was a 25 year-old dude who had somehow missed that women find strength attractive. Let's also overlook the base solipsism. May as well ignore the projecting too, since we're at it.

Where was I. Ah, right. So after a few weeks, dude discovers PPD, and armed with all these new TRP concepts he understands completely, joins a few other TRPs and soon enough he too is reciting TRP on PPD. Except it doesn't go as well. There's a lot less giggling and hand-clapping. Here, the people don't seem to be able to relate as much when he talks about his girlfriend's shitty behavior. And when he does his favorite thing of explaining how every girl in the universe is as immature as his girlfriend because his girlfriend is a girl, too, people downright ignore him.

Over time he learns how to speak more precisely, and to stick to only making bold statements about what he's experienced. But this only puts him at even. He hasn't even started learning about women yet, which is the whole reason he's in PPD in the first place. So he begins, but it's slow going. Keeps failing to reject the urge to announce his ideas of what all the women are like that he hasn't met yet. Or he'll get sidetracked and insist on debating floating abstractions and imaginary people for whom he seems to alternate between love, hate, envy and fear. None of this is much fun for the PPDs who patiently try to keep him grounded. Plus we have about 8 lawyers here, and they all have the same annoying fetish for facts and accuracy. But they've seen it before and have learned to be patient.

I have some ideas on how to fix this. Here's one.

It is a fact that we can speak more authoritatively about things we have experienced than things other people have experience. It is likewise a fact that the more assumptions one makes, the greater the likelihood of an error occuring. It is furthermore a fact that solipsism is weak.

With all that in mind, here is what I propose. It's small change, anyone could do it and I hope some of you do.

Talk about specific things. It's tempting to over-extend and spread an idea out to cover more people. It feels good, and having more people subsumed under an idea implies that it's a good idea, but just stick to what you know for sure.

Here are some specific examples.

Wrong: Women Right: Women I know

Wrong: All women Right: The women I can attract

Wrong: They all Right: She

I bet you can think of some more examples.

So what do you say, TRP? Do you want to take a little step towards greater truth and accuracy, and improve everyone's ability to communicate efficiently?