Idea Lab

Idea Lab

I don’t care what your position is. I care how you got to it.

Writing is judged on two things: is it true, and which side is it on. Idea Lab adds a third question and tries to make it the most important one. How was this built? Was it built to find out, or built to convince?

Start with The Ladder What Idea Lab is for
Two axes: the Idea Spectrum left to right, the Ladder bottom to top Scientist Starts with “I don’t know” and lets the evidence decide. Sports Fan Wants the truth, but is quietly rooting for one answer. Attorney Starts at the verdict and builds the case backwards. Zealot Just knows. Disagreement is an insult, not an argument. above: evidence can change your mind below: nothing can How did you get there? one position the opposite What do you think?
Where you stand left to right says nothing about how high you sit. The same person can be a Scientist on one topic and an Attorney on the next. Hover a rung to read more about it.

01

Judge the method, never the position

We never say a conclusion is right or wrong. We only say how it was built. The moment we are seen to favour a side, we are finished.

02

Symmetry is the proof

Every rule is tested on texts from opposing sides of the same issue. If the fouls only ever land on one side, the rule is broken, not the side.

03

Show the evidence, not just the score

A score alone is an Attorney move. Every rating points to the exact sentences that triggered it, so you can disagree.

Latest

Essay ·

The Ladder: How We Think, Not What We Think

Two people can hold the same opinion and arrive at it in completely different ways. Only one of them is actually thinking. A plain-words guide to Tim Urban’s Ladder, and what each rung sounds like on a real issue.

Coming next

  1. The Rubric, version 0.1. Five mechanical fouls, each with a definition and examples that trip it and examples that don’t. Public before anything is scored with it.
  2. The first Ladder report. The most-read articles on one story, both sides, scored side by side with the triggering sentences highlighted.
  3. Score this text. Paste a URL or a draft and get the rung, the fouls and the exact sentences.