Argument, The Human Condition and the Inability to Ask Questions
Today's blog comes in 3 Parts, and I am sorry but it’s a long one! 1) The Human condition, argument and asking questions, 2) Villains Response 3) Secret Identities.
Part 1: Argument, The Human Condition and the Inability to Ask Questions
Human nature by default epitomizes the definition of insecurity. That insecurity by my observation can be exhibited three ways. There are more strategies, I would like to add, but these are my most favourite.
Argument: I must have been in Grade 7, when we discussed how to propose strong arguments during debate. There are passive ways and very strong ways of arguing.
A) The strongest and often misguided arguments are ones which burst out of the gate headstrong and hold a false vibrato until someone/thing trips them up in their own mess and tangle of incomplete thoughts.
Those I must say are the most annoying arguments, because anyone who actually is informed on the points, will see right through it, and it can be down right aggravating that some loud mouthed buffoon is making a jackass out of a perfectly valid point.
Frequently this individual uses partial facts, and pseudo-intellect to make conclusions with many assumptions lumped in.
You will know this type because, you often want to feel embarrassed for the idiot quite honestly, unless they do it on a regular basis, then you just want to punch them in the throat.
Trying to reason with this person is impossible because they will either completely ignore your opinion or tell you flat out it can't be that way because it is so clearly this way. They also make up facts to support their shallow claims. At this point you can usually expect a tangle of legs as they stumble all over themselves, or awkward silences where they wish they had just ignored you in the first place.
B) The second type I am referring to, are more passive headstrong idiots. These are the ones who ask leading questions, that they think they already know the answer to, and are waiting to trap you in any insecurities or mis-information you may have.
This person uses "just enough information to be dangerous", and generally tend to be a “jack of all trades”, and a “master of none”... including arguments.
Trying to reason with this person usually fizzles out to a stale mate because you can't reason with them, and they can't MAKE you see it their way... no matter how much more research they really need to invest in it. Saying that you have valid points is beyond this person, they will never admit that in a million years,
C) The last strategy to argument is the Question Maker. This is by far my most favourite approach, because it can be so un-intrusive, yet poses great queries that make you think.
The Question Maker usually opens their argument with a question, which seems unrelated to the issue at hand. Usually they are the most intelligent of the three arguers and the most low key.
Opening with a seemingly unrelated question is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to offset the combatant nature of the other two types I addressed, simply because Headstrong Sally, and Presumptive Tom will paint themselves into their own corner by shooting their mouths off.
The Question Maker uses the fuel provided by the opposition to drive their own arguments, often turning the tables around to include pertinent points to support their view. This often frustrates Sally and Tom, and they usually lack the foresight or intelligence to both avoid and dig their way out of that situation. This strategy simply cannot be carried out without ample amounts of research and skill. A high Intelligence Quotient is also suggested.
You may find that in an actual debate when the opposition gets louder as their anger level increases, this person lowers their tone, heart rate and may even sit down, physically lowering their perceived level of dominance in the conversation just simply by being 'smaller' then the opposition.
In my opinion the Question Makers are generally the more inquisitive ones by nature. They are not afraid to admit they don’t know something, or need more information on it to make an intelligent conclusion. They are usually more open to change and more willing to hear other arguments presented with valid back up, and usually statistics based in fact, and not pulled out of your ass.
Questions, remain one of the easiest and most effective ways to control a conversation, because whomever is asking the questions is driving the direction.
Questions, also by nature are open, as they require responses. Clever Question Makers ask only open ended questions when they want to gather information, and closed ended questions when they want to steer in a certain direction. They ask things like “Would you say this square is blue?” while holding up a visual aid of a blue square, and also “Can you tell me more about this blue square?” when they want to gather data.
In general, I prefer to work with these individuals, because no opinion is invalid, and that opens up endless possibilities to reach conclusions.
By nature I have become a Question Maker. I find myself doing it unconsciously. However, by observation I have seen how much trouble being a Sally or a Tom can yield, and I would never want to inflict that upon myself.
I just generally think being informed, and not letting assumptions drive your life, makes out for better learning opportunities and more rewarding rides when you get it right.
Part 2: Villains Response
A) Proof Read!
B) Totally impressed with what you wrote.
C) I still don’t understand how there can be so many villains versus the ‘good’ super heroes present.
D) You know I have to go here so… Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Admittedly I don’t know very much about Super Heroes and Villains because I don’t have what I can attribute to the necessary ‘Y’ Chromosome to ‘get’ it.
That said there are girls who are Nerds who like comics and can probably run circles around me in saying that they are versed in Super Heroes.
However, I must; [point out that many of them have higher then normal concentrations of testosterone]/[call into questions their sexual preference].
No, I am not calling Comic Book Nerd Girls, Gays and Lesbians, but I’m saying many of them are abnormally… um… boyish.
So yeah, I’m going to use Buffy references.
Buffy is a super strong chick who fights Vampires, demons, aliens, apparitions, psyche… you name it.
What I always wondered was, where are the normal balance (cause in nature everything has balance), of the villains who are scared as fuck of her?
I recall ONE Vampire being shit scared of her and he was type cast as a Vampire bookworm Nerd. Nice Joss, nice,
But where are the normal Vampires who don’t have a badass complex who are just gonna say ‘I’mma leave you the fuck alone, cause I like being undead, cold, and sipping strawberry puree consistency plasma from humans”?
And I must say from the amount of shit Buffy battled and defeated, she must be one hell of a “good guy” to have that high of a concentration of evil in the world. Again, that is a balance reference.
I mean, for every super strong or healthy animal in the world there have got to be enough weak things just to feed it’s food supply. Not to mention the other things in the world that are equally or slightly less strong… those things need a good amount of weak things too.
So for the amount of shit Buffy discovered in her 8 seasons of TV and now 2 years of comics, she must be one goodass muther.
Well I mean, she did come back from the dead you know!
Maybe that didn’t directly rival your post about it Scott, but too bad that’s all I can muster on a topic I know little about. I just wanted to provoke some thought. I am as of yet unsettled as to the Villain % Vs. Super Hero Goodness.
Part 3: Secret Identities.
You forewarned me about it, but I am just sitting down now to think about it.
I don’t know much about Super Heroes and all the many secret identities there are in comic book land, however… I ask this…
Why do celebrities go out incognito?
I’m sure that part of them wants to lead a normal life. What kind of quality of life would you have even if you were the fastest, strongest, didn’t need sleep… and all you did all the time was do good.
Imagine a super Hero, for arguments sake, that doesn’t require sleep, because his cells regenerate or produce oxygen, or whatever you need to live… at an abnormally fast rate.
Well, he would never have to rest or sleep because his power already does that for him.
But if he was ‘on the clock’ 24/7, 365… I think he might just go insane and become a villain!
All the pressure to perform, and the media storm, is not a way to conduct any quality of life for a prolonged time.
Additionally, I think that part of the secret identity has very much to do with the same appeal that the anonymity of the internet provides for normal people.
By observation, internet hook ups, relationships, interactions are all done from the safety net and comfort of familiar surroundings. And you fore-go the risk of anyone actually ‘seeing’ you for you. Many people are afraid to expose their deepest secrets and share things they are yet undecided are acceptable.
Acceptance, and just ‘being’ are things the human race seems to stumble over in every day living, never mind the pressure of having to perform ‘super’ duties.
So maybe the price of being a Super Hero takes a toll in that they aren’t generally well adjusted ‘humans’. Look at Superman and what a freak he was when he was Clark Kent.
Super Heroes, got problems, and not just in the way that the Brooklyn bridge got blown out in -20 degree weather and a thousand people are going to plummet to their frigid death in the water below.
I guess the secret identities thing just comes back to insecurities… which kinda relates to how I opened with “Human nature by default epitomizes the definition of insecurity.”
Proposed Topic: Daily Occurrences =/= Noteworthy.
Inspiration: Why is it that so many people use twitter for stupid things to "tweet" what they are doing when it's boring as shit stuff no one cares about. Why do you seem to think that things you do daily aren't noteworthy, and some people think when they take a poop it's like they laid a brick of gold in their porcelain bowl.
Part 1: Argument, The Human Condition and the Inability to Ask Questions
Human nature by default epitomizes the definition of insecurity. That insecurity by my observation can be exhibited three ways. There are more strategies, I would like to add, but these are my most favourite.
Argument: I must have been in Grade 7, when we discussed how to propose strong arguments during debate. There are passive ways and very strong ways of arguing.
A) The strongest and often misguided arguments are ones which burst out of the gate headstrong and hold a false vibrato until someone/thing trips them up in their own mess and tangle of incomplete thoughts.
Those I must say are the most annoying arguments, because anyone who actually is informed on the points, will see right through it, and it can be down right aggravating that some loud mouthed buffoon is making a jackass out of a perfectly valid point.
Frequently this individual uses partial facts, and pseudo-intellect to make conclusions with many assumptions lumped in.
You will know this type because, you often want to feel embarrassed for the idiot quite honestly, unless they do it on a regular basis, then you just want to punch them in the throat.
Trying to reason with this person is impossible because they will either completely ignore your opinion or tell you flat out it can't be that way because it is so clearly this way. They also make up facts to support their shallow claims. At this point you can usually expect a tangle of legs as they stumble all over themselves, or awkward silences where they wish they had just ignored you in the first place.
B) The second type I am referring to, are more passive headstrong idiots. These are the ones who ask leading questions, that they think they already know the answer to, and are waiting to trap you in any insecurities or mis-information you may have.
This person uses "just enough information to be dangerous", and generally tend to be a “jack of all trades”, and a “master of none”... including arguments.
Trying to reason with this person usually fizzles out to a stale mate because you can't reason with them, and they can't MAKE you see it their way... no matter how much more research they really need to invest in it. Saying that you have valid points is beyond this person, they will never admit that in a million years,
C) The last strategy to argument is the Question Maker. This is by far my most favourite approach, because it can be so un-intrusive, yet poses great queries that make you think.
The Question Maker usually opens their argument with a question, which seems unrelated to the issue at hand. Usually they are the most intelligent of the three arguers and the most low key.
Opening with a seemingly unrelated question is, in my opinion, one of the best ways to offset the combatant nature of the other two types I addressed, simply because Headstrong Sally, and Presumptive Tom will paint themselves into their own corner by shooting their mouths off.
The Question Maker uses the fuel provided by the opposition to drive their own arguments, often turning the tables around to include pertinent points to support their view. This often frustrates Sally and Tom, and they usually lack the foresight or intelligence to both avoid and dig their way out of that situation. This strategy simply cannot be carried out without ample amounts of research and skill. A high Intelligence Quotient is also suggested.
You may find that in an actual debate when the opposition gets louder as their anger level increases, this person lowers their tone, heart rate and may even sit down, physically lowering their perceived level of dominance in the conversation just simply by being 'smaller' then the opposition.
In my opinion the Question Makers are generally the more inquisitive ones by nature. They are not afraid to admit they don’t know something, or need more information on it to make an intelligent conclusion. They are usually more open to change and more willing to hear other arguments presented with valid back up, and usually statistics based in fact, and not pulled out of your ass.
Questions, remain one of the easiest and most effective ways to control a conversation, because whomever is asking the questions is driving the direction.
Questions, also by nature are open, as they require responses. Clever Question Makers ask only open ended questions when they want to gather information, and closed ended questions when they want to steer in a certain direction. They ask things like “Would you say this square is blue?” while holding up a visual aid of a blue square, and also “Can you tell me more about this blue square?” when they want to gather data.
In general, I prefer to work with these individuals, because no opinion is invalid, and that opens up endless possibilities to reach conclusions.
By nature I have become a Question Maker. I find myself doing it unconsciously. However, by observation I have seen how much trouble being a Sally or a Tom can yield, and I would never want to inflict that upon myself.
I just generally think being informed, and not letting assumptions drive your life, makes out for better learning opportunities and more rewarding rides when you get it right.
Part 2: Villains Response
A) Proof Read!
B) Totally impressed with what you wrote.
C) I still don’t understand how there can be so many villains versus the ‘good’ super heroes present.
D) You know I have to go here so… Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Admittedly I don’t know very much about Super Heroes and Villains because I don’t have what I can attribute to the necessary ‘Y’ Chromosome to ‘get’ it.
That said there are girls who are Nerds who like comics and can probably run circles around me in saying that they are versed in Super Heroes.
However, I must; [point out that many of them have higher then normal concentrations of testosterone]/[call into questions their sexual preference].
No, I am not calling Comic Book Nerd Girls, Gays and Lesbians, but I’m saying many of them are abnormally… um… boyish.
So yeah, I’m going to use Buffy references.
Buffy is a super strong chick who fights Vampires, demons, aliens, apparitions, psyche… you name it.
What I always wondered was, where are the normal balance (cause in nature everything has balance), of the villains who are scared as fuck of her?
I recall ONE Vampire being shit scared of her and he was type cast as a Vampire bookworm Nerd. Nice Joss, nice,
But where are the normal Vampires who don’t have a badass complex who are just gonna say ‘I’mma leave you the fuck alone, cause I like being undead, cold, and sipping strawberry puree consistency plasma from humans”?
And I must say from the amount of shit Buffy battled and defeated, she must be one hell of a “good guy” to have that high of a concentration of evil in the world. Again, that is a balance reference.
I mean, for every super strong or healthy animal in the world there have got to be enough weak things just to feed it’s food supply. Not to mention the other things in the world that are equally or slightly less strong… those things need a good amount of weak things too.
So for the amount of shit Buffy discovered in her 8 seasons of TV and now 2 years of comics, she must be one goodass muther.
Well I mean, she did come back from the dead you know!
Maybe that didn’t directly rival your post about it Scott, but too bad that’s all I can muster on a topic I know little about. I just wanted to provoke some thought. I am as of yet unsettled as to the Villain % Vs. Super Hero Goodness.
Part 3: Secret Identities.
You forewarned me about it, but I am just sitting down now to think about it.
I don’t know much about Super Heroes and all the many secret identities there are in comic book land, however… I ask this…
Why do celebrities go out incognito?
I’m sure that part of them wants to lead a normal life. What kind of quality of life would you have even if you were the fastest, strongest, didn’t need sleep… and all you did all the time was do good.
Imagine a super Hero, for arguments sake, that doesn’t require sleep, because his cells regenerate or produce oxygen, or whatever you need to live… at an abnormally fast rate.
Well, he would never have to rest or sleep because his power already does that for him.
But if he was ‘on the clock’ 24/7, 365… I think he might just go insane and become a villain!
All the pressure to perform, and the media storm, is not a way to conduct any quality of life for a prolonged time.
Additionally, I think that part of the secret identity has very much to do with the same appeal that the anonymity of the internet provides for normal people.
By observation, internet hook ups, relationships, interactions are all done from the safety net and comfort of familiar surroundings. And you fore-go the risk of anyone actually ‘seeing’ you for you. Many people are afraid to expose their deepest secrets and share things they are yet undecided are acceptable.
Acceptance, and just ‘being’ are things the human race seems to stumble over in every day living, never mind the pressure of having to perform ‘super’ duties.
So maybe the price of being a Super Hero takes a toll in that they aren’t generally well adjusted ‘humans’. Look at Superman and what a freak he was when he was Clark Kent.
Super Heroes, got problems, and not just in the way that the Brooklyn bridge got blown out in -20 degree weather and a thousand people are going to plummet to their frigid death in the water below.
I guess the secret identities thing just comes back to insecurities… which kinda relates to how I opened with “Human nature by default epitomizes the definition of insecurity.”
Proposed Topic: Daily Occurrences =/= Noteworthy.
Inspiration: Why is it that so many people use twitter for stupid things to "tweet" what they are doing when it's boring as shit stuff no one cares about. Why do you seem to think that things you do daily aren't noteworthy, and some people think when they take a poop it's like they laid a brick of gold in their porcelain bowl.