I want to quote Richard Feynman here. He’s one of my heroes. He won the Nobel Prize in Physics, and he was the one who discovered why the Challenger exploded. However, to most people, he’s know for his book “Are you Joking Mr Feynman” in which he recounts his adventures. This is an exerpt from that book, particularly from a commencement speech he gave in Caltech.
… I call these things cult science, because they follow all the apparent precepts and forms of scientific investigation. … But there is one feature I notice that is generally missing in cult science. … It’s a kind of scientific integrity, a principle of scientific thought that corresponds to a kind of utter honesty – a kind of leaning over backwards. For example, if you’re doing an experiment, you should report everything that you think might make it invalid – not only what you think is right about it. … If you make a theory, for example, and advertise it, or put it out, then you must also put down all the facts that disagree with it, as well as those that agree with it. …the idea is to try to give all of the information to help others to judge the value of your contribution; not just the information that leads to judgment in one particular direction or another.
I think this can be applied to politics discussion, especially here in the ordered thread. I don’t post here often, because I see a lot of arguments that are heavily one sided. I hear people saying that Michael Moore is a god, or that America should just kick everyone’s butt. But I sincerely hope that when making your arguments, you consider the opposing view, and make sure to point out the holes in what you say. Don’t go for the one sided view. You owe it to yourself and to the person you’re debating with to consider the whole issue before you say anything.
It’s this idea the reason why I hate Michael Moore so much. He immediately dismisses others opinions as stupid. Heck the title of his book is called “Stupid white men.” There are many smart people in the opposing camp, and you always have to consider WHY, if they’re so smart, they think that way.
Every single one of us is ignorant on ANY issue we talk about here. We don’t hold a degree in politics, and there’s no one here that makes politics his/her life. But we can do our best to see the whole picture by learning as much as possible. This includes reading books by authors with opposing views.
The purpose of a debate shouldn’t be to beat the other person. Rather, it should be to arrive at the truth. And you can’t do that if you don’t consider the other persons point of view. And I can’t do that, if you don’t know what you’re talking about. I hope you see my point.
