How true is this in our lives today? Even on this website. How many of us just can't tear ourselves away from ProgressiveU because someone just posted a reply to a blog or a comment and, goodness gracious! They didn't agree with what was said. Start the next round of finding facts (I hope!) online to counter what they just said.
Of course the time comes to end an argument. Someone's argument devolves into repeating the same sentiment, pointing fingers, name calling, or all of the above. Someone's argument is just so far out that the only reply you can make is to blink--and hitting the reply button to type out "::blink::" is so Livejournal.
Other reasons to end the comment war include your opponent and/or their posse no longer being online, or maybe Lost is on. Sorry, ProU. Lost trumps blogging any day of the week. Especially Thursdays at 10/9 Central. Sometimes, the reason to stop hitting the reply button is nothing more than that you are the bigger person.
Sometimes an argument between two people is really good. Both parties present their sides with facts and logic. Logic is the key to a good argument; it's what turns it into a debate. Debates are almost fun to follow, perhaps because they are progressive and my mind likes to be nourished by intellect every so often.
What is not fun to follow are the times when a discussion turns into the equivalent of a shouting match. This often happens when only one person is presenting a good argument. S/he presents a good argument, followed by another, and another, until s/he finally gives up. Because the person they argue with continues to believe that presenting the same statement, perhaps worded differently, is a judicious thing to do. The only sensible outcome from these arguments is that someone realizes that talking to a brick wall, and watching someone talk to a brick wall, is exasperating, and they pull the plug.
An argument should, not so much change a mind, but open it. An open mind is open to change and, more importantly, capable of forward thinking. Keeping an open mind is progressive in its own way. A closed mind is ignorant.
In a nutshell, I suppose I could say that this is a request to think before you reply to a blog, or comment, you don't agree with. When you think, everybody wins.
xkcd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. This means I am free to copy and share its comics, but not to sell them.
"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."-xkcd
I had that conversation last night. It was for a class forum. And no, I really didn't think all that much before I replied.
-Sonja :)
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
replied to my blog or the class forum?
Thinking is really important to an argument, if you want to win it. Using a quote or statistic isn't thinking, really, unless you are going to expand on it and say how it's relevant to your point of view. Hmmm... Perhaps the term I should have used is "critical thinking?" Thinking itself really doesn't take a lot of effort.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
Except this post. :) There really was no debate about it though.
-Sonja :)
"Democracy works only when you vote. When you don't take the time to vote for the candidate you find the least offensive, you run the risk of electing the candidate you find the most offensive."
Except my Thursday night class, sadly. I tried to register for another slot, but they were full. Sad.
That cartoon perfectly illustrated the nightly exchange between me and my partner. Except there should be a big, exasperated grunt from off screen after the last line. ProU has not been good for me!
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
it's ok. if you can keep people from ruining it for you (but really, Lost goes in so many directions that spoilers just can't ruin the ending) ABC shows it on Friday on their website. With almost no commercials. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I just watched last week's tonight. It's a weekly date with a friend who also misses it on Thursdays.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
How many times in my life have I said almost that exact thing. I'm not sure I can count that high.......LOVED this blog. Thank you =o)
~~~><~~~
"One of the things that draws writers to writing, is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life, by writing about them"
~ Tobias Wolffe
loved it so much you'll rate it a 5? ;-)
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for reading! :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I already did.
:)X
~~~><~~~
"One of the things that draws writers to writing, is that they can get things right that they got wrong in real life, by writing about them"
~ Tobias Wolffe
Thank you for contributing to me being the center of my own universe. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I can see how this got on the highly rated list. Great job with this!
I personally don't find myself on ProgU trying to continuously argue with someone. I guess I'm just not argumentative. However sometimes I feel replies go on too long. I like to reply to comments, but after a while of replying over and over again to the same person, I feel it is time to stop. I don't want the person to think I didn't see their comment though, so that depends on how long the 2 way convo lasts.
Someone replied with ::blink::? Isn't that an IM thing? Oh such strange people abound...but I suppose it takes all kinds to create the world.
I loved the little comic you inserted from that website. It worked well with your blog and was entertaining. The quote at the bottom was great too:
"Warning: this comic occasionally contains strong language (which may be unsuitable for children), unusual humor (which may be unsuitable for adults), and advanced mathematics (which may be unsuitable for liberal-arts majors)."-
It's good to see someone in the world still has a sense of humor.
~ *~
Visit my blog! I'll even provide a link for ya:
Comments are always appreciated! :)
Not just the highly rated list. It made the front page! I was like omfg!!!! I made something super cool! glee :-P
I'm not really on here to argue, either. I don't know if anyone really is. But sometimes you can't help it because, it's just the progressive thing to do. As long as it's a good argument. I see a lot of arguments go on and on and on that are just... ugh, shut up already because you make no sense at all.
I use ::blink:: on livejournal when someone says something that is just... dumb. I haven't seen it on here though. I haven't seen any cat macros either. I think that's also an LJ thing. :-)
if you like this comic, there are plenty more at xkcd.com. It is one of my favorite webcomics. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
Congrats on the awesomeness!
Ironically, after I got off ProgU last night and was on a bus with a friend, I experienced the blink thing firsthand. I was trying to explain something, and she gave me this blank stare and said. "Blink." I love ironies.
Argument can be cool, but I'd rather call something a debate. Argument sounds so...uncooperative. Anywho, I'm more likely to get into a debate if it's with friends at lunch. I'm less likely to debate online. It's hard to guage people's reactions and stuff when all you are is words in a comment post...
~ *~
Visit my blog! I'll even provide a link for ya:
Comments are always appreciated! :)
I love arguing. Especially when it's with someone who is passionate and intelligent. But if the argument sinks to personal attacks, it makes me cry. And it makes baby Jesus cry, and it causes God to kill a kitten.
Please, think of the kittens.
I thought God killed kittens when you masturbate?
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
I was pretty sure it was puppies...
I love how random these conversations get.
~ *~
Visit my blog! I'll even provide a link for ya:
Comments are always appreciated! :)
I think he kicks puppies, kills a kitten, and makes you go blind.
masturbation is serious business, I guess.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
That explains my thick glasses. I'd better cut that out.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
-7.25 in each eye for me. Sometimes I like to tell people to try on my glasses just to watch them fall over :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
-9.5 in each!
Eat that! *victory dance, spikes saline solution in the end zone*
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
By your "powers" combined, I am Captain Legally-blind-without-correction!
we should start a "my lenses cost twice as much as my frames" club. ;-)
39dollarglasses.com is my friend.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I love reading your arguments (among others') because they just have a tendency to be intelligent. I learn things from them, or they make me think more. I think God might save 10 kittens every time one of you comments. :-)
also... haha, "lies make baby Jesus cry" is one of my most overused phrases in real life. That made me lol. ;-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
O geez. so true. Im a bit ashamed of myself. Lol, I probably should get off this website right about now, but Ya know....just a few more. thats how it works.
haha. I wait until like midnight (because I'm usually up anyway) when there are only like 8 people signed in and then I spend like 2 hours, or more, catching up with all the blogs that were posted since the previous day. I am an addict. I'd probably be on more if I didn't have dial-up. :-P
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
that's so true!! love the comic and your blog.
Thank you! :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I am so not going to bed tonight because i absolutely disagree with the content of your blog. As a matter of fact the guy who drew the cartoon was wrong in that the guy in cartoon couldn't have such a magnanimous head, there's no way a cartoon character has a flat screen monitor and it was his mom telling him to GO to bed not his wife telling him to COME to bed. I also disagree that lost trumps blogging and arguing. I can prove to you that the cast of lost are actually on PROU during commercials. Which means lost is done live, and you may disagree with that too, but i'm more than willing to debate it with you...............LOL
How could you not love all these.
::blink::
**edit** oh shit. I forgot this is the internet. ::blink:: was a joke. (insert obligatory emoticon here; my prefered emoticon is ":-P").
trufax: Lost is actually a reality TV show. We don't find out until season 6 though.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
See, i knew you'd come back to argue. Though i don't watch t.v, i can prove to you that it's all scripted and they're all acting.
Oh, one last thing:
::blink::
And here I am worrying about how I'm not doing much on this site. I feel sad.
By the way, xkcd reflects a lot of my life, especially "Compiling."
quality over quantity. you're doin' just fine on the site. I have no doubt in my mind that your blog will be nothing short of amazing, once you write one. :-)
besides, no one likes an over achiever :-P
sometimes, xkcd hits a little too close to home. But I love it. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
I'm a type of person that likes to argue and discuss about debates and such. I find it fun arguying about your opinions until it gets out of hand and people start flaming the topic. I really think that flaming is really immature and should stop.
I could not agree more. :-)
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
do you think that there are at least some people who have no idea what they are talking about? if so what should we do to ensure that we are giving them something other than the cold shoulder to provide them with an open mind? is there no topic that holds a great amount of contraversial issue that cannot cause reaction and such emphasis to strive to make a point? esspecially when the whole ideaology is that you make comments regardless to gain something such as a scholarship? i agree that we should be demanded to keep it real, but in order for everything to continue, we must yell to not yell and be upset to not be upset, which we all are so naturally accustomed to do.
do you think that there are at least some people who have no idea what they are talking about?
I think that, sadly, a lot of people talk without knowing what they are talking about.
if so what should we do to ensure that we are giving them something other than the cold shoulder to provide them with an open mind?
Debating, itself--presenting an opposing viewpoint, should allow another to see things from a new perspective, opening their mind. But some people refuse to hear views that oppose their own.
There are times on here when facts and reliable resources are presented to someone as a counter-argument. The person will then reply with the same argument used before and, to emphasize their point, will call the one arguing with them ignorant.
These people, I'm not sure how you would open their minds to anything. You can't force someone to listen to or acknowledge other viewpoints, and you can't force anyone to even attempt to understand where you are coming from. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.
When you are so close-minded that you can only see the world from your own point of view, you are incredibly ignorant. Perhaps giving up on these people after a one-sided argument, giving them "the cold shoulder," isn't the most progressive thing, but sometimes it's the only thing to do. And that's sad.
the whole ideaology is that you make comments regardless to gain something such as a scholarship?
If you are commenting simply to gain the 10 points, you've missed the whole point of this website. The website's purpose is to promote progress, not to simply win a contest.
i agree that we should be demanded to keep it real, but in order for everything to continue, we must yell to not yell and be upset to not be upset, which we all are so naturally accustomed to do.
I think that was the point of my blog, unless I am misunderstanding you right here. Which I very well might be.
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/sawaboof
"...There is a crushing guilt that comes with being a Catholic. Whether things are good or bad or you're simply... eating tacos in the park, there is always the crushing guilt."
-30 Rock-
This is too cute but so true. This comic should be the dictionary definition of our society. Not many people can agree or much less say they agree on issues. Thank you for addressing this issue.