The Two Most Dismissive Words on the Internet

theatlantic.com

It's "go off" in the article, not something I usually see in normal discussions.

I think "conspiracy theory" is a good candidate, not because crazy ideas are always true but because it's used as an intellectually absent way of saying you won't listen to something. "Privilege" is another good one with no use in actual debate, but it's only one word.

What would you say is an intellectually present way of saying I won't listen to something?

I mean that in seriousness. I have limited time and resources, as do we all, and have to make snap judgments about what merits attention. When I dismiss something as a conspiracy theory, I'm summing up in two words my judgment that an argument seems very unlikely. And usually coming from a source that has a pattern of being wrong.

That is not an argument. It's a shorthand for saying that I don't believe something is worth my attention -- which is a valid thing for me to decide.

I could say it that way, if you'd prefer. But the meaning will be the same.

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