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| Nicolás Gómez Dávila |
Better to make a bad decision than to refrain from making one.
If the alternative is magic, the permutation won't save you.
Better to use absurdities to your advantage than to explain why they are absurd.
Better to explain why they are absurd than to scoff.
Debate is a game. If you can defend it as such, you shouldn't lose framework.
If you want to change the norms of the community, win debates under the current set of norms.
If you want to win on framework, you have to demonstrate that it's not just about you.
Debate is competitive dream architecture.
The more detailed a projection of the future, the less likely it is to come to pass.
The LO and MG are playing Tetris. The PM and MO are playing chess.
Good debaters make stupid arguments too.
A self-righteous, defiant, losing debater is a losing debater.
Make arguments for reasons.
If a debater tells you they think a category of argument is stupid, and that argument is not spec, read it against them.
There's no bigger time suck than a true, strategic argument.
If you can't win a fast debate slowly, you aren't ready to debate fast.
The last thing a talented debater wants to have to do is win an argument.
Will, can you extrapolate on "The more detailed a projection of the future, the less likely it is to come to pass"? While this makes sense from a rational position it seems that in debate rounds it is important to provide the most detailed scenario for impact comparison.
ReplyDeleteWill:
ReplyDeleteI'm interested in your aphorism, "If you can't win a fast debate slowly, you aren't ready to debate fast." I take this to mean that a competent debater must master argument analysis and strategy, and without these skills simple speed won't win. In recent posts you've suggested several things nonspeed teams (a category I'd like to see more of!)can do to hold their own against speed teams. Could you give some general guidelines for nonspeed teams who want to hold their own at the highest level of college competition?
Dave Zimny
Los Medanos College
Pittsburg, CA