“Unfortunately, public debates do not have much room for subtlety. The audience wants a quick thrust at your opponent, not a slow and convoluted series of moves. Whenever Obama uses subtleties in discussing a complex issue, he gets creamed.” WantUseMovingRoomsAudienceIssuesSeriesComplexesDebateOpponentsThrustDiscussingSubtletyConvoluted Author:Alan Lightman
“An idea is only an idea if it causes unease, debate and reflection. By that standard, Thomas Homer-Dixon's concept of an 'ingenuity gap' is truly a new idea. I can think of no other new concept that so fully condenses all of the challenges we face as a human civilization than the 'ingenuity gap'. Homer-Dixon has found a way to unite all of our concerns about economics, war, population growth, complexity, etc. under a single heading. He is one of an elite group of academics who can write for a mass audience.” IfsThinkingWayWritingHumansI CanIdeasWarFacesFoundCausesGrowthChallengesAudienceGroupsCivilizationMassStandardsReflectionConceptsConcernEconomicsPopulationDebateComplexityEtcGapsElitesNew IdeasHeadingsIngenuityPopulation GrowthHuman CivilizationChallenges We Face Author:Robert D. Kaplan
“The internet's perfect for all manner of things, but productive discussion ain't one of them. It provides scant room for debate and infinite opportunities for fruitless point-scoring: the heady combination of perceived anonymity, gestated responses, random heckling and a notional “live audience” quickly conspire to create a “perfect storm” of perpetual bickering.” OpportunityPerfectRoomsAudienceInternetInfiniteResponseStormDebateCombinationDiscussionProductivePerpetualAnonymityBickeringPerfect StormHeckling Book:Dawn of the Dumb Source: Dawn of the Dumb
“Scientists blame the audience for being too stupid, shallow, or lazy to understand. There has been a fascinating debate in the blogosphere lately about communicating science to the public, and it's clear that most scientists just don't get it. They can't be bothered to talk to real people. Nobody will care about your issues if the price they have to pay is listening to a long lecture from Morton the science bug.” PeopleIfsLongHas BeensRealCarePayAudienceIssuesClearStupidListeningScientistBlameCommunicateDebateLazyFascinatingShallowBugsLecturesBothered Author:Mark Powell
“Everyone seems to have internalized the fact that you can say anything you want at a televised debate, and only a tiny fraction of the audience will ever see a fact-check. So why not claim the moon is square?” WantFactsSeemsAudienceMoonClaimsTinyDebateChecksWhy NotSquaresSay AnythingFractions Author:Ted Cruz