A debate is a distributed way of thinking. This is a beautiful way of putting it, but IME rarely do actual debates actually rise to this level. Typically, they

A debate is a distributed way of thinking. This is a beautiful way of putting it, but IME rarely do actual debates actually rise to this level. Typically, they just amp up our confirmation biases and cause people to dig in. I've had a few beautiful debates/discussions with friends in my life where we took sides on some issue and by the end, had both switched sides. These are great, because we're both cracking up by the end, but they've been incredibly rare. They require a way of exploring topics in a way that doesn't require/trigger ego investment and some adherence to the principle of charity[1]. Hell, I'm practically demonstrating the wrong way to do it in this very post. ;) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_charity https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Principle_of_charity