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I would say that more importantly than winning or losing a debate is to know which debate you should participate.
by kuu 4y ago
I would say that more importantly than winning or losing a debate is to know which debate you should participate.
- nibbleshifter 4y agoAbout 99% of the time IRL, debating is pointless and just annoying to everyone present.
- whstl 4y agoYeah, couldn't agree more. They also can be annoying online, so people just ignore. On Reddit you often see very long, deep, threads with 1-karma posts that nobody even bothers to vote for. On HN those long debates not only take a lot of space, and you often see moderators telling people to stop. Sometimes you gotta preemptively "lose" a debate, by not answering at all. At most a "Alright, I get your point but I disagree" which also doesn't really add much to the discussion.
- Cthulhu_ 4y agoGreat point. A lot of people debate for debate's sake, because their opinion is out there. That's probably what I do on HN, I post and never look back or respond to any replies. Not a good trait, but anyway. Best thing to do, if you detect you're about to enter a debate, is to ask "What would it take for you to change your opinion?". If they reply with "nothing" or a vague answer or whatever, exit the debate. Likewise though, ask yourself the same question.