The problem with debates on the Internet is that there’s no objective way to judge who won – no equivalent of a knockout. In fact, there’s not even a word that means knockout when you’re talking about an exchange of ideas. But there should be. I recommend using the word “knockout.”
I always consider myself a winner by knockout whenever someone distorts my point to something ridiculous and then argues against the ridiculous thing. That seems like an acknowledgement that my real point is unassailable. Why else would someone need to invent a whole new point to argue against?
Knockout!
Likewise, when anyone brings into the debate Hitler, or the slippery slope, or guilt by association arguments, I consider that a victory by knockout too. And if someone ignores a simple and direct question, that’s the cleanest victory there is.
On my recent blogs about using torture, only a few opponents of the practice played fair with my question and said that yes, they would sacrifice an entire city to avoid torturing one guy, presumably even if no one would ever know it happened. That’s an honest answer that at least follows logically from a certain set of assumptions about morality. Fair enough, even if you disagree with those assumptions. That just means that round two is a discussion about those assumptions. No knockout.
But a scary number of people offered comments that were the logical equivalent of punching themselves unconscious in the first round. I don’t need to point them out because they’re somewhat obvious. The point is that most of those people are eligible to vote.
Is that a bad thing?
I know I’m not qualified to vote because the media doesn’t supply me with the right information. If I were to act on useless data, my awesome powers of logic would often lead me to the wrong conclusions. But the people who punch themselves unconscious in every debate aren’t necessarily hampered by having useless information and flawed assumptions. They have just as much chance of accidentally getting the right answer as I do. The difference is that they’ll feel like good citizens, and that’s worth something too.
Especially if they get picked for jury duty.