Percy writes:
Is there a way to detect craziness early so as to avoid wasting all the time? Or is engaging the craziness profitable in that it brings many rational responses that couch the issues in terms that match reality?
While the person you are talking to may be crazy, you must remember that a lot of these online discussions and debates take place for the lurkers as well. All the eventual craziness is generally easy to see while reading through the thread and so a lurker will be more drawn, on average, to more coherent argument.
We need to remember that at all times on this board, and many others, there are only a handful of registered members reading through threads, while the majority of traffic is by individuals who have not registered but want to read the arguments.
If we are to leave the crazies alone then to some lurkers it may seem that their arguments have weight, which should definitely be avoided. While educating those who we argue with is the primary reason for debating on these boards (at least for me), we cannot forget the effect of allowing these arguments to stand unrebutted...for they may lead to the ignorance of others whom we should strive to educate.
The theory of evolution by cumulative natural selection is the only theory we know of that is in principle capable of explaining the existence of organized complexity. - Richard Dawkins
Creationists make it sound as though a 'theory' is something you dreamt up after being drunk all night. - Issac Asimov
If you removed all the arteries, veins, & capillaries from a person’s body, and tied them end-to-endthe person will die. - Neil Degrasse Tyson
What would Buddha do? Nothing! What does the Buddhist terrorist do? Goes into the middle of the street, takes the gas, *pfft*, Self-Barbecue. The Christian and the Muslim on either side are yelling, "What the Fuck are you doing?" The Buddhist says, "Making you deal with your shit. - Robin Williams
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