2008-08-28 New, productive method of debate

Reading is more than a hobby to me, I am addicted to it. However, my previous method was to read, read and read more about the subject before deciding which book is better than which. Asking the right questions taught me how to do that after reading the book directly without the need to research the subject before making my mind.

The profound effect of the book is more than helping me to decide the intellectual value of other materials I read, but everything that I encounter. As soon as I finished the book (I read it in a day and a half) I left my room and went and sat with my family in the living room, they were watching a TV show that I don't even recall the subject of and they were all astonished by the "facts" the speaker was giving, "wow" everyone was saying. After ten minutes exactly I was able to list quite an interesting number of mistakes, inaccuracies and distortions in his "facts" and explained that most of them were actually "opinions" and "claims", this made me more surprised than anyone else as my previous attitude would have been "ok, sounds good, now we have to check what the opposing point of view says".

Asking the right questions teaches exactly that, what you should be asking, and what you should avoid concentrating on because in reality it is irrelevant to the subject at hand. It shows in a very easy and straightforward way how to focus on evaluating what you hear, and distinguishing the useful form the rubbish and the padding. You most probably won't be able to win the high school debate team right after you finish it, but it opens your eyes to new productive methods of debate rather than the more common reactive ones.

I recommend it to anyone that is studying in the college level and above and to anyone that reads more than romantic novels, joke books and cook books.