steelman

«steelman» in Mova's school dictionary: to describe it in its strongest, fairest form before you… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 2 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

verb (steelman, steelmans, steelmanned, steelmanning); noun (a steelman, steelmen — rare)

meaning for a pupil

1) To steelman someone's argument is to describe it in its strongest, fairest form before you answer it, even if you disagree. tree →

2) A steelman is that strongest version of the other side's argument. tree →

3) (rare, old) A steelman can also be a man who works making steel. tree →

sense in the lessons

In ethics, debate and philosophy lessons steelmanning is a fair way to argue: the opposite of a «straw man», where you twist the other side's view to make it easy to knock down. It shows respect and helps you think clearly. Phrases: steelman the argument, steelman the other side.

examples

• Before you disagree, try to steelman your friend's idea. tree →
• Let's steelman the argument for a longer school day. tree →
• She steelmanned the other team's point so well that they thanked her. tree →
• A straw man makes the other side look silly; a steelman makes it look its best. tree →
• In our debate club we must steelman before we argue back. tree →
• Can you steelman why some people want to ban phones in schools? tree →
• Steelmanning helps you find the truth instead of just winning. tree →

note

It is a newer, informal word made as the opposite of «straw man». Spelling: steelmanned, steelmanning (double n is common). Not used in maths.

In the corpora

• A steelman means describing the other side's view in its strongest form; it helps you understand without making you agree.
• Steelmanning each other's best reason before arguing helps two people understand each other and find a middle way.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «steelman» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.