Assertions, challenges, and polite discourse (was: Exception as the primary error handling mechanism?)

[Ben Finney]

Grant Edwards <invalid at invalid.invalid> writes:

> Answering a yes/no question with "no" doesn't seem to me to be
> combative if the correct answer is indeed "no".  But I've lost
> track of the post you found objectionable...

In fairness, the “No” was in response, not to an explicit question, but
to an assertion.

Every assertion expressed, though, implies the question “is this
assertion true?”. It was that question that was answered “No” (followed
by an explanation of why the assertion was not true).

People sometimes get upset — on an immediate, irrational level — when
their assertions are challenged. There's no denying that emotions
entangle our discourse, and our interpretation of the discourse of
others.

That's not something I'd ever want to eradicate. I ask only that, rather
than decrying that assertions be challenged per se, the challenge be
assessed to see whether it's valid.

-- 
 \       “Everything you read in newspapers is absolutely true, except |
  `\        for that rare story of which you happen to have first-hand |
_o__)                                         knowledge.” —Erwin Knoll |
Ben Finney