I recently realized something: I like to discuss, not debate. Never have been a debater, never will be. A good debater needs to immerse themselves in a topic...for some, it becomes a lifes work...and come to the table prepped with a snappy comeback to every possible opposing comment. That is SO not me. Im the person who survived history classes thanks to essay questions. Let me explain the causality and Im golden. Ask me to answer T or F to a question with tons of hidden nuances the teacher didnt see, ignored or thought we wouldnt see...Im hosed. Best teacher I ever had said...go ahead and justify your answer. If your reasoning is sound, you get full credit. Wheeee! My kinda sensei! Of course...he was my Physical Anthropology teacher...(Anyone wonder why I wrote a book about a future teaching program? :D) For me, winning an encounter with a differing opinion is and always has been increased understanding and respect on both sides. I find win/win to be much more appealing than win/lose. Thats one reason I write the kind of books I write. My good guys dont have all the answers, and my bad guys often surprise. Its one reason I use what I call a kaleidoscopic viewpoint...because reality, as I see it, is rarely absolute. Its usually an intersection of perceptions. Anyway, I went up on the interwebs to see if I was grokking the topic in a sensible fashion and found many articles on debating, which were very interesting and confirmed my suspicions that Id be a LOUSY debater...and then I found this. I dont know who this guy is, I havent looked at any other posts...but I thought he did a pretty good job of expressing how I at least try to operate, when I engage a differing opinion, on the web or in person.
Posted on: Sun, 04 Jan 2015 21:32:56 +0000
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