https://theoutline.com/post/6709/debate-is-stupid
EXCERPT: . . . As it turned out, the debate didn’t go so well for fans of liberalism. Frum himself tried to make sense of it in a postmortem published in The Atlantic, scratching his head at the wreckage he and Bannon had left behind. At first, the post-debate polling suggested that Bannon had won the hearts and minds of the audience, with 57 percent taking his side by the end, compared to 28 percent at the start of the event. Later the Munk Debate officials issued a correction, stating that the audience voted exactly the same at the start and the end, which by the debate’s rules is considered a draw. The situation remains somewhat unclear, but we know this much: best case scenario, Frum got onto a stage with a person who appeals to humanity’s grossest instincts, believing he could defeat those instincts with knowledge, reason, and Enlightenment values — and he didn’t move the needle in the slightest.
[...] But any form of debate is inherently flawed. The aim of debate is not to provide a detailed, cogent, well-sourced answer to the question at hand. The aim of debate is to be the most convincing, not the smartest, and anyone who’s good at debating knows this. This is how former Breitbart scribe Ben Shapiro has a reputation as an intellectual warrior when his arguments mostly consist of saying incorrect things very fast. This is why conservative political commentator Steven Crowder has a series called “Change My Mind” in which he ambushes random college kids with a big binder full of pre-prepared talking points, and pulls the mic away from them anytime they seem like they might actually change someone’s mind. This is how a call to murder pedophiles got my high school audience onside better than my scribbled stats on deterrence rates did.
People — yes, even you — do not make decisions on an entirely rational basis. An audience is more easily won over with a one-liner that inspires applause or laughter than a five-minute explanation of a complicated phenomenon. A false statistic repeated confidently will be more convincing than a truth stated haltingly by some guy you’ve never heard of, and who you’ve already decided you don’t like because he’s arguing against the guy you came to see. Massively complex ideologies with hundreds of years of scholarship behind them are reduced to a couple of fast-talking egos in Dockers thinking about the best way to make their opponent look like a dumbass. Debate is not politics. It’s theater.
[...] Do not be tempted by the promise of easy satisfaction. Watching a debate can make you actively worse at understanding the nuances of a topic. If you want to really know about a subject, here’s my advice: read widely and extensively (and not just the books your favorite YouTuber recommends). Talk to people, patiently and fairly, rejecting your instinctual desire to win. ...
MORE: https://theoutline.com/post/6709/debate-is-stupid
EXCERPT: . . . As it turned out, the debate didn’t go so well for fans of liberalism. Frum himself tried to make sense of it in a postmortem published in The Atlantic, scratching his head at the wreckage he and Bannon had left behind. At first, the post-debate polling suggested that Bannon had won the hearts and minds of the audience, with 57 percent taking his side by the end, compared to 28 percent at the start of the event. Later the Munk Debate officials issued a correction, stating that the audience voted exactly the same at the start and the end, which by the debate’s rules is considered a draw. The situation remains somewhat unclear, but we know this much: best case scenario, Frum got onto a stage with a person who appeals to humanity’s grossest instincts, believing he could defeat those instincts with knowledge, reason, and Enlightenment values — and he didn’t move the needle in the slightest.
[...] But any form of debate is inherently flawed. The aim of debate is not to provide a detailed, cogent, well-sourced answer to the question at hand. The aim of debate is to be the most convincing, not the smartest, and anyone who’s good at debating knows this. This is how former Breitbart scribe Ben Shapiro has a reputation as an intellectual warrior when his arguments mostly consist of saying incorrect things very fast. This is why conservative political commentator Steven Crowder has a series called “Change My Mind” in which he ambushes random college kids with a big binder full of pre-prepared talking points, and pulls the mic away from them anytime they seem like they might actually change someone’s mind. This is how a call to murder pedophiles got my high school audience onside better than my scribbled stats on deterrence rates did.
People — yes, even you — do not make decisions on an entirely rational basis. An audience is more easily won over with a one-liner that inspires applause or laughter than a five-minute explanation of a complicated phenomenon. A false statistic repeated confidently will be more convincing than a truth stated haltingly by some guy you’ve never heard of, and who you’ve already decided you don’t like because he’s arguing against the guy you came to see. Massively complex ideologies with hundreds of years of scholarship behind them are reduced to a couple of fast-talking egos in Dockers thinking about the best way to make their opponent look like a dumbass. Debate is not politics. It’s theater.
[...] Do not be tempted by the promise of easy satisfaction. Watching a debate can make you actively worse at understanding the nuances of a topic. If you want to really know about a subject, here’s my advice: read widely and extensively (and not just the books your favorite YouTuber recommends). Talk to people, patiently and fairly, rejecting your instinctual desire to win. ...
MORE: https://theoutline.com/post/6709/debate-is-stupid