Vast literatures as mud moats
http://noahpinionblog.blogspot.com/2017/05/vast-literatures-as-mud-moats.html [noahpinionblog.blogspot.com]
2017-05-16 16:10
And in the world of intellectual debate, this vast literature can function as a mud moat. That is a term I just made up, sticking with the metaphor of political arguments as medieval castles requiring a defense. A mud moat is just a big pit of mud surrounding your castle, causing an attacking army to get trapped in the mud while you pepper them with arrows.
My solution to this problem is what I call the Two Paper Rule. If you want me to read the vast literature, cite me two papers that are exemplars and paragons of that literature.