How To Lose Any Argument
"Well, I think you're a cunt." (Photo: enggul)
I was sitting in a restaurant with two of my buddies in Colombia. Somehow the subject of DUIs and drinking and driving in general came up.
One of my buddies started arguing that the intoxication level to signal a DUI should be raised. Understanding that his argument was absolutely retarded, I countered what he said.
“People shouldn’t drink anything at all and drive, period,” I argued. “No one’s greediness should risk my personal safety.”
He sputtered out a disconnected response, which eventually led to me suggesting that most people refuse to take personal responsibility for their actions. He said he disagreed.
I love arguments, and this one was on.
I immediately provided an example to show him how wrong he was. “When I worked as a computer technician, people came in all the time with broken screens on their laptops, claiming they weren’t responsible and that it ‘just happened’, wanting the screen replaced for free under warranty. Even after we pointed out the clear impact point on the screen, making it absolutely obvious that it was from an external source and not something random, these people still refused to fess up that they had punctured and damaged their own screens. We got a few of these people in our store every day.”
He shook his head and said, “Yeah, but that doesn’t really matter…” I had no idea what he was trying to get at. He made a point, got it refuted, and simply tried to pass it all off as unimportant and beside the point.
I was already upset enough that he had defended drunk driving. I was getting pissed that he was providing no real intelligent evidence for his arguments. And this was the last straw for me.
“Are you kidding me?” I yelled. “You aren’t arguing anything! You’re just changing the subject and refusing to recognize any other viewpoints!” I continued like this for a while.
And right then, I immediately lost every aspect of that argument, although my opponent was an idiot. (I’ve already lost the argument, so I might as well call him an idiot now.)
How To Lose Any Argument
As soon as you result to questioning your opponent’s intelligence or ability to reason, you’re done. You’ve lost it.
Arguments are fun, if done right. They provide insight into another person’s point of view. I’ve changed my mind on many subjects because someone else was able to intelligently refute my established point of view.
You likely get engaged in arguments because you want to change your opponent’s point of view. That should be your only goal, no matter what happens.
But the second you stray from your clear-cut, well-thought-out argument, you’re done. Your opponent’s ability to form a thought has nothing to do with health care reform, so don’t question it. Your opponent’s stupid circular reasoning doesn’t have much to do with eating a vegan diet, so leave it out. “Are you seriously arguing that?” is a phrase that doesn’t have much in common with abortion rights.
So if you want to lose any argument, question your opponent’s ability to argue. If you want to win an argument, just stay level-headed and stick to your guns.
What I Would Have Done Differently In My First Situation
Nah, I wouldn’t have done anything differently.
The guy was impossible to have a rational argument with, I soon learned. Some people are better left alone.