A good debate question - Page 4

Originally posted by: -Aarya-

And what happens when you see two sides of the coin? Does that prevent you from debating...

How different are debates from discussions?

A debate can also be a discussion and doesn't have to be about winning or losing. Debating is fun but I think in this kind of a forum, most people have not signed up for that purpose. You can't force people to debate when they may just be coming here for timepass or to get their mind off their work.

Some long intellectual threads are just too much at the end of the day when you want to put your feet up. Nothing is wrong with that, everyone likes to unwind in different ways I guess. For me, it's the more light hearted stuff. I like the bollywood forum the best, so that probably means I am superficial. 😛
Edited by nishabee - 11 years ago

Originally posted by: moomin4455

In a debate someone wins and someone loses. A discussion is much less formal - it's an exchange of ideas, but not necessarily to sway the audiences or each other's opinion.

It's hard to debate here, but I think there's definitely scope to have a really serious delve into a topic. Your posts may be interrupted by flirting, jokes, arguments 😳 etc. but I think people can still seriously debate/discuss.

  @ Bold :   WTH ...😛  I bet you were hinting at me there ...

Alright   " Sorry Didi aab hum ..nahi karenge shor  .....
                 "Lekin bacche flirt na kare to ho jayenge bore " ...<<<<<<  😆

  Jokes apart ..: But what you have said is as right as could be  ...In your earlier post that is ...Such written debates offer debaters a hell of a lotta time to articulate their answers ..which makes the whole theme pandanous...

    Vintu ...😛

Originally posted by: -Aarya-

And what happens when you see two sides of the coin? Does that prevent you from debating...

How different are debates from discussions?

Edited by BirdieNumNum - 11 years ago

Originally posted by: BirdieNumNum

but that's a given- almost  any issue we can think of in life has two sides or more, two choices or more, each with different pros and cons. At every stage, there's a fork in the road and we have to pick that one particular road from multiple ones that we end up traveling on. In fact, that's what leaders do- they choose one way from among different tough choices and then they try to persuade people that their way is correct.

personally i find discussions boring. It's like watching a game with no skin in the game. There's nothing like people taking strong stands in debates to see what they think. Debates in that sense involve us more intellectually. Yes, they can be serious but because they force us to choose sides, they make us learn more about the topic and ourselves in the process. Of course, it's no fun if one always loses, but when one gets to be pretty good at it, then it's more fun playing the game than just passively watching it. 

     You stated that wonderfully well ...Debating is an art ...And I have seen people turn the tables over the opponents even when they are wrong ..Weaving webs of words to nicely bail up the opponent ..

   I guess one must posses a couple qualities as pre requisites for a successful debate before one decides to enter.  A. They must have a profound knowledge of the topic ...And a lot of anologies and referrences to back their contentions ...B. They must know how to put forward their point properly ...in a real appealing manner ...To leave the opponent thinking and baffled ..

 Discussions are scummy, blunt in a way ..Where people don't express opinions emphatically ...and partake the yabber just to frolic ..Or may be just to socialize ..hm .

  Now this should give ya'll fair nuff idea why I don't debate much ...

  Vintu ...😛
 



 

Originally posted by: BirdieNumNum

but that's a given- almost  any issue we can think of in life has two sides or more, two choices or more, each with different pros and cons. At every stage, there's a fork in the road and we have to pick that one particular road from multiple ones that we end up traveling on. In fact, that's what leaders do- they choose one way from among different tough choices and then they try to persuade people that their way is correct.

personally i find discussions boring. It's like watching a game with no skin in the game. There's nothing like people taking strong stands in debates to see what they think. Debates in that sense involve us more intellectually. Yes, they can be serious but because they force us to choose sides, they make us learn more about the topic and ourselves in the process. Of course, it's no fun if one always loses, but when one gets to be pretty good at it, then it's more fun playing the game than just passively watching it. 

How often do people take a stand for something they don't believe in but just to test the water of the opponent... simply a mind game! 

Originally posted by: -Aarya-

How often do people take a stand for something they don't believe in but just to test the water of the opponent... simply a mind game! 

That does not seem to happen very often , at least not here. They wouldnt come across as very convincing and would be fence sitters.  Its more intense when we have people debating about something they passionately believe in though I wouldnt put it against some member's  ability to debate from both sides.

Originally posted by: _Angie_

That does not seem to happen very often , at least not here. They wouldnt come across as very convincing and would be fence sitters.  Its more intense when we have people debating about something they passionately believe in though I wouldnt put it against some member's  ability to debate from both sides.

True very few poses that quality and yet everyone changes their mind so often. I believe very few topics are worth jumping off the fence cause the rest are all just one-sided discussions! :)

 
Edited by -Aarya- - 11 years ago

I think a discussion often entails debate. The two go hand in hand.

Debates that are strictly about two opposing viewpoints and arguments in favour of one or another take place in very few formats -- probably in court, or in high school debate societies.

Most discussions involve people debating it out, but the discussion itself is broader, and its purpose is much less defined. For example, in many discussions, people will state positions or things that are debatable or arguable, so that creates room for arguments for/against that position.

One thing I've noticed here is that someone will try to contrive a debate question in the thread title itself -- that can work sometimes for some topics, but to me it kind of swallows most of the complexity of the debate right there. Most issues have nuances, lots of nuances, and a discussion can provide space for nuances and clear out a space where debatable things can be brought forward.

When the question that's put to us erases those nuances, then there's not much to discuss or debate. Or when people ask yes/no questions, for example.

Ideally, under the context of a discussion of a topic that presumably most people care about, people will post things, including some things that are debatable. And then others can engage that person in a debate. This doesn't mean that the whole conversation has to be polarizing, however. Or that everyone who is involved in that discussion thread has to be on one side or another. They can go on another thread or tangent if they want, and maybe they will introduce new nuances or new questions into the discussion. Ideally.

Originally posted by: nishabee

A debate can also be a discussion and doesn't have to be about winning or losing. Debating is fun but I think in this kind of a forum, most people have not signed up for that purpose. You can't force people to debate when they may just be coming here for timepass or to get their mind off their work.

Some long intellectual threads are just too much at the end of the day when you want to put your feet up. Nothing is wrong with that, everyone likes to unwind in different ways I guess. For me, it's the more light hearted stuff. I like the bollywood forum the best, so that probably means I am superficial. 😛

I addressed some of this in the original post of the thread. I agree that people don't come  here to be intellectuals, but I think that's what creates unlikely debates.

I can debate with other people who live and breathe issues I want to discuss anytime. I can't really discuss those issues with people who are brought together in a totally random format. Most of us are in a bubble socially - we mostly interact with others who think a lot like us - and an online forum, especially one as lax and laidback as this one gives you a different arena for discussion. Most people I choose to hang out with are feminists, and they are deeply suspicious of capitalism. (Except my family, most of my family loves capitalism). I can still have interesting discussions with my friends about other things, but I can't discuss whether capitalism is a good thing with them. Most would already agree that it's not, and we would get bored trying to convince each other of something that we already believe and have thought through before.

I don't always feel like coming on here to debate. Most times I procrastinate by going to fashion websites, so I'm superficial too. But when I feel like throwing my two cents in or having a discussion with a random set of people, I come here. I am not using the word random in a derogatory way, btw, hope that's clear. I just mean by that people I don't know or who don't necessarily share common things.
Edited by --arti-- - 11 years ago