MetaFilter posts tagged with debate

Professor loses it at debate event

Crotalus — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 11:50:49 -0800

The Cross Examination Debate Association meets regularly for debate tournaments. Things often get heated, but this year, professor Bill Shanahan of Fort Hays State went nuts. More here and here.

Birthrate Ballyhoo

amyms — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 10:42:17 -0800

Baby Bust! After 200 years of exponential population growth, and just four decades after overpopulation doomsaying began filling the bestseller lists, the First World is suddenly gripped with underpopulation hysteria. The governments of the developed world have always maintained an interest in birthrates and procreation, but the reasons why are changing, and the ensuing demographic debates about gender, race and culture are "ideologically fraught and scientifically questionable."

Rethinking Literacy

divabat — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 16:49:19 -0800

The Dark Side of Literacy - Indian education reform organization Shikshantar, who aims to encourage concepts of "Swaraj", or self-rule in local education, argues that current education and literacy models do not take into account local cultures and languages and gives too much credit to the Western alphabet. They also argue that there are many serious flaws in what they describe as UNESCO's campaign of "McEducation For All".

Hierarchy of Disagreement

GuyZero — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:47:34 -0800

The Hierarchy of Disagreement: Based on Paul Graham's essay "How to Disagree" (prev), the diagram ranks the types of arguments that can be made. Not quite the same as logical fallacies but a useful guide to measure whether you're making a good argument or if "you are an ass hat".

An unbiased, informative site for heated issues

pedmands — Sat, 10 May 2008 18:04:22 -0800

ProCon.org is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit public charity that has no government affiliations of any kind. On it, you can find unbiased information on the Pros and Cons of issues ranging from the the use of medical marijuana to whether milk really does do a body good. They use a system of theoretical credibility to give weight to cited arguments and opinions, and offer 1-minute overviews, top 10 Pro/Cons, Summaries, Little-known facts, and even extensive glossaries for each subject. They are also following the 2008 election. Re: Euthanasia- Did you know? The original text of the ancient Greek Hippocratic Oath, that is still taken (in some form) by many medical school graduates, contained prohibitions against surgery, abortion, and euthanasia.

The best movies of all time?

dawson — Fri, 02 May 2008 19:46:12 -0800

The top 100 films According to The Times (UK) Another film list? The same old Citizen Kane? No - this one’s different, says The Times’s chief film critic James Christopher The point of The Times Top 100 Films of All Time is to stimulate argument, and sharpen your own thoughts about the ingredents that make great movies. We shall be horrified if anyone agrees with every one of our choices.

Overblown, conceptually thin, with nothing to say

divabat — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:38:56 -0800

Rick Poynor asks - isn't it time we demanded more from design conferences?

Oratory, Politics, and Video

dawson — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 21:41:33 -0800

If one can look past the Obama/Political filter, here is a fascinating series of debates between two masters of the ancient art of oratory. The setting: The 2004 Illinois senate race. The participants: Barak Obama and Alan Keyes, (who are about as different as politicians get in the US). The arguments: various subjects of national interest such as the war in Iraq, the 'axis of evil' and world diplomacy', gun control, legislative experience, and abortion, trade, poverty and globalism. Three debates, available in three formats, video, audio, or transcript. Many question addressed by Obama that he dosen't usually get to address at length, and he's not sharing the stage with a dozen other (lesser) hopefuls.

How Many Five Year Olds Could You Take in a Fight?

Avenger50 — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 18:44:54 -0800

How Many Five Year Olds Could You Take in a Fight? [cached via]

Incompatible

chuckdarwin — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 17:13:04 -0800

Germany Seeks to Ban Scientology