Auctioneer + Political Wonk + Chess Club = The World of Competitive Policy Debate. This video of the
national debate championships [realplayer, and many more here, including in other languages] is a real experience. This form of debate has evolved around a very specific
set of rules with results that may seem strange to the uninitiated.
Each year since 1921 there has been a single topic (take a look at 1939 for an example that reflects the times). Competitors
learn to speak very fast, while
elaborate strategies for winning have developed and
massive amounts of information are presented in just a few minutes. If you like your debates witty and understandable, you may want to check out
parliamentary debate instead (real format). I assume there are some other ex-debaters out there in MeFi land....
posted by blahblahblah
on Feb 8, 2006 -
85 comments
