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My rule is that I'm open to changing my mind, but on my own timetable and with no obligation to provide any feedback to the persuader. For instance, my time con
by analog31 5y ago
My rule is that I'm open to changing my mind, but on my own timetable and with no obligation to provide any feedback to the persuader. For instance, my time constant for updating my views is longer than one election or marketing cycle.
Another rule is that you win by having the best idea, not by being the most skilled debater.
- JackFr 5y ago> Another rule is that you win by having the best idea, not by being the most skilled debater. A silly distinction - the most skilled debater is the one who makes you think their idea is the best.
- webmaven 5y agoGiven that most people are quite resistant to changing their minds, the most skilled debater is the one that gets the most people to change their mind, rather than the one that gets the most people to agree.
- analog31 5y agoI was thinking of debate, more as a persuasive technique than as a way of discovering the truth. Changing my mind is easy -- the powers of advertising, manipulation, coercion, etc., are all highly refined arts. Arriving at the truth is harder, even if "truth" is merely a plausible choice of one alternative over another. It seems possible that if stubbornness is a acquired trait, it is one because it confers a survival advantage.