michael_nielsen

I'm worried that even asking this question is violating "Yes, and" culture, but: What *is* "Yes, and" culture? Is it about sharing cool things, rather than expressing opinions? (Or does it mean expressing opinions, but not expressing disagreement w/others' opinions?)

It’s a term from improv theatre, used to enable very good improvisational performances: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yes,_and … Roughly, it means accepting what the other has said, and riffing in a direction inspired by it, not blocking.

It’s possible to violate, but usually requires considerable skill and a lot of established context. For similar reasons, online argument & judgement often fails.

You may be amused: I explicitly think in terms of a “Julia exception” (I swear I’m not making this up): you so consistently argue in good faith that it’s possible to argue productively with you even within the rather restrictive confines of Twitter.

omg <3 <3 <3

You & Devon both do this (gracious, good faith disagreement) thing superbly -- which is part of why I was curious about how that relates to your notion of "Yes, and" culture.