My initial reaction to this post was similar to many of the other commenters here. There's a real danger in making "negative" comments taboo.
But I don't think Nick's saying "don't make critical comments" here. This sentence encapsulates the idea quite well:
But I fear emphasis has shifted from critically
reflecting on and examining our own beliefs to simply
criticizing and pointing out errors in other people’s work.
If someone proposes an idea and you think it's terrible, it's worth taking a few minutes to think about whether you're wrong or misunderstanding or missing some part of the bigger picture. It's not about accepting ideas un-critically, but instead about examining your own ideas and beliefs just as critically as you're examining others.
I suspect it's just always been the case that many people are bad at this. It's just that the internet has democratized and scaled up the process of getting poorly thought out negative opinions about your work.
But I don't think Nick's saying "don't make critical comments" here. This sentence encapsulates the idea quite well:
If someone proposes an idea and you think it's terrible, it's worth taking a few minutes to think about whether you're wrong or misunderstanding or missing some part of the bigger picture. It's not about accepting ideas un-critically, but instead about examining your own ideas and beliefs just as critically as you're examining others.I suspect it's just always been the case that many people are bad at this. It's just that the internet has democratized and scaled up the process of getting poorly thought out negative opinions about your work.