> I think in any debate or discussion you have to be quite fast on thinking. Not really. If you watch a debate show like Question Time, everything that's said

> I think in any debate or discussion you have to be quite fast on thinking. Not really. If you watch a debate show like Question Time, everything that's said is utterly predictable. Politicians have spent years trotting out the same arguments. Everything is a set piece because you know what the topic is, and you have ample time to prepare. It's actually like this in most debates, it's only thinking if you haven't been there before. If you are just smart and you run into a person with is properly prepared, you will get demolished by well tested arguments backed up with established facts. If you get really old and your memory goes then you'll have a problem, but most of the talking head types are not that old yet, and they just give a canned response.