Something surprising I& #39;ve learned from forums: intellectual dishonesty is an art form. When I write an essay on a controversial topic, I can usually predict what the median attack on it will be. But occasionally I& #39;ll see one of just breathtaking novelty.

I think intellectual dishonesty is analogous to hacking in the sense of breaking into things. There are people who are not just smart but also way more dedicated than you& #39;d expect anyone to be, and they find ways to attack you that you& #39;d never have imagined possible.

This is not a subtweet, incidentally. It& #39;s because I& #39;m writing a new essay, and while predicting ways people would attack it, I realized I was thinking the same thing the designer of a new system would: that I couldn& #39;t protect against a really dedicated attacker.