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Science: You'll never win on the internet. - Page 2

Forum Index > General Forum
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Malarkey817
Profile Joined June 2010
United States163 Posts
July 12 2011 23:03 GMT
#21
The aim of debate isn't to prove that you're right or to change the other person's beliefs. It's to show that the other person is wrong, because if they're wrong then you're right. I thought everyone knew that.
"Mnet's Nicole The Entertainer's Introduction to Veterinary Science changed my life." -TuElite
JingleHell
Profile Blog Joined March 2011
United States11308 Posts
July 12 2011 23:03 GMT
#22
You understand that due to your links, I'm obliged by your post to not believe a word of it? Unfortunately, this creates a contradiction, since I can't disbelieve your article without proving it true.

Your article creates a logical paradox, and thus, must die.
Gnial
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
Canada907 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-07-12 23:09:22
July 12 2011 23:03 GMT
#23
I don't know about any of you, but I generally don't debate with the intention of changing the mind of the person I'm discussing with. (Of course I'm talking about the publicly displayed debates such as those in the general forum)

Rather, I hope that someone else reading the discussion who may not have been informed previously may be informed by the ongoing debate, and come to have my point of view.

If some idiot keeps posting the same retarded crap about his opinion over and over, becoming more entrenched in his opinion, and you provide a good argument, any 3rd party viewer should be able to see through the crap. It is with that 3rd party viewer that you have succeeded, even if you never get the gratification of being told that you're right at the end of the day.

If I want to change someone's mind, I'll discuss with them in PMs, phone, skype, in person, etc. The more private you make such discussions, the less likely they are to feel like they are going to lose face.
1, eh? 2, eh? 3, eh?
turdburgler
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
England6749 Posts
July 12 2011 23:07 GMT
#24
On July 13 2011 07:21 Kleinmuuhg wrote:
That's why you close-to-never see these words on the internet:
"I'm sorry, my bad"
"I was wrong, I guess you're right"

Basically that article is just proving what was pretty obvious before!


to be fair to people, most arguments start off with something along the lines of "and you are a massive faggot" "you piece of shit" so telling them publicly they are correct is more about not wanting to appear to be their bitch than anything
shinosai
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States1577 Posts
July 12 2011 23:12 GMT
#25
I've had my mind changed by people on the internet before. If I cannot field a logical argument to counter their point, then there is no choice but to incorporate their belief.
Be versatile, know when to retreat, and carry a big gun.
Batch
Profile Joined May 2010
Sweden692 Posts
July 12 2011 23:12 GMT
#26
On July 13 2011 07:21 Kleinmuuhg wrote:
That's why you close-to-never see these words on the internet:
"I'm sorry, my bad"
"I was wrong, I guess you're right"

Basically that article is just proving what was pretty obvious before!

I have actually taken a step back and said such things several times when I have been in discussions about different things and found out I was wrong.

I haven't read more from this article than what is written in the OP but the fact that I have lost argumentations online is proof enough for me that it is possible to win an discussion online.
Enervate
Profile Joined August 2010
United States1769 Posts
July 12 2011 23:22 GMT
#27
I believe there's a simpler term for this phenomenon known as denial.

However, I fail to see how you reached the conclusion that one can never win on the internet. Seeing as how all the experimenting in the world can't prove such a claim, only predict an unlikelihood of winning on the internet.

To quote Anne Frank, where there's hope, there's life.
Kleinmuuhg
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
Vanuatu4091 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-07-12 23:33:03
July 12 2011 23:31 GMT
#28
On July 13 2011 08:01 Mr. Wiggles wrote:
I don't believe this, and that article only makes me more sure of my correctness.

Dude, stop before the universe explodes. It's like pinocchio saying: "I'm lying"

On July 13 2011 08:12 Batch wrote:
Show nested quote +
On July 13 2011 07:21 Kleinmuuhg wrote:
That's why you close-to-never see these words on the internet:
"I'm sorry, my bad"
"I was wrong, I guess you're right"

Basically that article is just proving what was pretty obvious before!

I have actually taken a step back and said such things several times when I have been in discussions about different things and found out I was wrong.

I haven't read more from this article than what is written in the OP but the fact that I have lost argumentations online is proof enough for me that it is possible to win an discussion online.

Thats honorable, but by far not the norm. It IS possible to win, but I wouldn't want to know the odds.
This is our town, scrub
Calm
Profile Joined September 2010
Canada380 Posts
July 12 2011 23:37 GMT
#29
To the OP:

Nuh-uh! You're wrong because... j/k

This article just confirms what I already knew and generally practice: there's no point in arguing in most cases. There's no real "win". You can debate, and that's good and fun. But in passionate arguments it's just best to agree to disagree and move on to more productive things.
Titusmaster6
Profile Blog Joined September 2007
United States5937 Posts
July 12 2011 23:46 GMT
#30
This is interesting and goes along with the theory that every idea is a meme and that we have just as much a "memotype" as a genotype. So our mind unconsciously preserves our unique memotype just as our body automatically preserves our lives.
Shorts down shorts up, BOOM, just like that.
zulu_nation8
Profile Blog Joined May 2005
China26351 Posts
July 12 2011 23:49 GMT
#31
I can confirm through experience. Most arguments on TL end up in flaming.
ghrur
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3786 Posts
July 12 2011 23:51 GMT
#32
On July 13 2011 07:21 BlackJack wrote:
I though this was rather well known. Colbert had a guy on his show last night that was talking about another effect: instead of seeking out evidence to form opinions, you form opinions and then seek the evidence to confirm your opinion.


More people need to read Sherlock Holmes. )=<
darkness overpowering
GoldenH
Profile Blog Joined March 2010
1115 Posts
July 12 2011 23:52 GMT
#33
I guess it's totally impossible to have an opinion backed up by facts and logic and expect an equally solid set of facts and logic before discarding said opinion.

And perhaps your logic has a common error that seems obvious to everyone but you.

But this is just speculation we need science to tell us that!
"(Dudes are) not going to say "Buy this game — I cried at the end". (...) I suppose the secret is to find a game that makes you shoot eight million fuckin' dudes and then cry about how awesome it is to shoot eight million fuckin' dudes." - Tim Rogers
nemo14
Profile Joined January 2011
United States425 Posts
July 12 2011 23:57 GMT
#34
I wish that I had gotten to this thread quickly enough to say "inb4 posters who agree, but believe themselves to be exceptions to the rule." Why are we so predictably dishonest with ourselves, guys? Out of all the real arguments I have ever been involved in, only two managed to actually change my mind about a thing and that is only because I finally realized after an hour of getting the rhetorical shit kicked out of me that I was occupying a literally indefensible position.
MidKnight
Profile Joined December 2008
Lithuania884 Posts
July 13 2011 00:04 GMT
#35
I thought that was common sense
zulu_nation8
Profile Blog Joined May 2005
China26351 Posts
July 13 2011 00:07 GMT
#36
On July 13 2011 07:21 BlackJack wrote:
I though this was rather well known. Colbert had a guy on his show last night that was talking about another effect: instead of seeking out evidence to form opinions, you form opinions and then seek the evidence to confirm your opinion.


Whether values precede rationality or vice versa is imo one of the most interesting philosophical questions. Even when people do change their opinions, the cause often has nothing to do with rational analysis.
jdseemoreglass
Profile Blog Joined July 2010
United States3773 Posts
July 13 2011 00:09 GMT
#37
Ah yes... I'm familiar with this "theory." Here's how it works...

You are sure of some conviction you picked up at the university, and you go spouting it off, ie "97% of climate scientists think global warming is man-made!" When people reject your claim, you assure yourself that you are smarter than they are, because you have the facts on your side, while they are doing psychological acrobatics in order to deny and not accept your obviously superior and correct view of everything in the universe.

Of course, you have to lie to yourself by saying that you also succumb to psychological errors and biases, but you do this only to once again prove your intellectual superiority to yourself, which makes the whole exercise extremely circular and ironic without you even realizing it.

Once you have your "people are really stupid" mentality firmly entrenched in your mind, excluding yourself of course, you can hold yourself above debate by saying something along the lines of "you never win on the internet," preventing you from actually justifying your convictions, thereby again ironically confirming the theory you already invented.

We could go in circles for days here. Sorry, but I've changed my mind on many, many different issues, politics included. I changed my opinions because I read opinions from people much smarter than I am. Those people aren't found in online forums, they are found in great literature and philosophical works. I read Chomsky and Rothbard at the same time. That just goes to prove the convictions I have now are better than anyone else's and there's no point in me accepting any contradictory arguments.
"If you want this forum to be full of half-baked philosophy discussions between pompous faggots like yourself forever, stay the course captain vanilla" - FakeSteve[TPR], 2006
Alabasern
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States4005 Posts
July 13 2011 00:16 GMT
#38
Fat cats will always pay to suppress the truth, and sponsor bullshit.
Support your esport!
ghrur
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
United States3786 Posts
July 13 2011 00:18 GMT
#39
On July 13 2011 09:09 jdseemoreglass wrote:
We could go in circles for days here. Sorry, but I've changed my mind on many, many different issues, politics included. I changed my opinions because I read opinions from people much smarter than I am. Those people aren't found in online forums, they are found in great literature and philosophical works. I read Chomsky and Rothbard at the same time. That just goes to prove the convictions I have now are better than anyone else's and there's no point in me accepting any contradictory arguments.


Chomsky AND Rothbard??? MY GOD! I THINK YOU DEFY THIS THREAD!
darkness overpowering
ggrrg
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
Bulgaria2717 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-07-13 00:28:38
July 13 2011 00:22 GMT
#40
Anyone who's read the general section on TL knows that online debates rarely have a "winner".
However, I have to say that over the past 2 years there actually was one thread, where the debate changed my position on the topic. I didn't admit it in a post, though. I just left the discussion...

Actually, there was another thread where I also shifted my position during the debate. However, it wasn't a 180° turn around like the first thread.

Obvisiouly, I was right every other debate I engaged in :p


Also, I find this to be quite true:

On July 13 2011 08:03 Malarkey817 wrote:
The aim of debate isn't to prove that you're right or to change the other person's beliefs. It's to show that the other person is wrong, because if they're wrong then you're right. I thought everyone knew that.




edit:

I think it would be interesting if the OP added a poll:

Poll: Have you ever changed your position after an online debate?

I don't engage in online debates. (13)
 
43%

>5 times (6)
 
20%

No. (4)
 
13%

1-2 times (4)
 
13%

3-5 times (3)
 
10%

30 total votes

Your vote: Have you ever changed your position after an online debate?

(Vote): No.
(Vote): I don't engage in online debates.
(Vote): 1-2 times
(Vote): 3-5 times
(Vote): >5 times



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