Debating Meaning

In true St Paul style, I have to show a few bona fides so that it looks as if I know something about debate. I think I've had more debate training, both formal and informal than most; my parents were both high school debaters (from the College of Wyverns), and they brought that into their marriage, and then into their later family life.

I dabbled in debate when young, and was even a debate adjudicator in the early days of the modern three-man debates which are now favoured over the much more entertaining parliamentary free-for-alls and others. To my everlasting shock, I was once Best Speaker at some university debate. And so on.

It strikes me that debate training is singularly bad prep for life.

In debate, you define your terms, you set your case, you develop lines of argument, you learn to root out fallacies (or at least convince the adjudicators that you have exposed the other side's fallacies whether or not such exist), and so on. In life, it doesn't happen. The morons with the fallacies are often winners.

I've learnt to be schizophrenic about it. In my head, one of me tots up the score, adjudicating the event in debate terms. In my head, one other of me smiles a lot. And a third of me (at least) delivers canned responses, noting that despite the stupidity of the situation (or the absurdity of it), nobody else notices or affects to notice.

I remember being called up by the Inquisition. They were being laughably inept interrogators. (Example: "Your post was made at 1100, which is during office hours." "Err, my posts are in EST, which means that was actually 2300, which is not office hours.")

Finally, they triumphed over me. "You may be right, but if you were right, it is obvious that you were confusing. How else could we have been wrong if you were not being ambiguous and confusing? You should apologise!"

I almost burst out laughing. But that's not good form in debate or in life. I almost said, "Maybe because you weren't thinking properly?" But that's not good form in debate or in life either.

Debate, debate. It is a silly fish that goes for debate. Debate is horrible prep for life. It's like mucking around instead of really trying to find something.

Mindlessness in Atlantis

Chronologies are funny things. I remember my 2004 post on All Hallows' Eve, about how disappointed I had been, in more than one sense. It was the last day of my almost eight years as the commander of the largest of all Atlantis's alchemical divisions, and I had been asked to step down.

Shortly thereafter, the whole College was told that blogging was evil, unprofessional, a useless and mindless activity. And so on. It was a dark time, a time for only those of true conviction and greatness of spirit to survive.

Fast forward about seven months, and miraculous things happened. I remember speaking in a very restrained and non-committal way with the Mustache some time before the first miracle. He was glad that I remained positive and happy; he was incredulous that such a thing had happened (as were many who knew).

Four months after that, as we approached the first anniversary of my disappointment, the advent of 'white space' was announced. Obviously, some people implemented it in a silly and haphazard way, but it was a good idea.

In December 2005, I was promoted again. Some day, I will tell the whole story. It is a fascinating one.

Insiderious

Today I ended up talking to QC. QC is a lawyer at a very prestigious law firm which might be characterised as a lily-pad. He was telling me about his accidental walk with someone with whom I would rather not walk myself. Some people, it seems, told QC that whatever happened to this humble writer was all a misunderstanding. Someone also said to QC that some people regretted the misunderstanding and bore no ill-will to the target of the misunderstanding.

QC told me many things about that someone. They were amusing to me, and I was able to remain calm and cheerful throughout. It helps that QC is also a good friend of my own immediate male ancestor and hence relatively trustworthy.

Haha, well, I feel like a djinni who has been released from some imprisoning lamp by a 'misunderstanding' and is not very keen on returning no matter what. After weathering much ill-will, malice and other inappropriate feelings from some people, it is good to be free. It is almost as if, now that the djinni is out of the lamp and able to wield his powers to his own advantage, the previous lampoons are regretting the misunderstanding. (I don't really think so, but you never know.)

Well, I understood every word quite clearly. If you tell me in simple words, and then repeat to my wife those words, "...not a good teacher, so might as well go elsewhere..." well then I am happy to be elsewhere. I don't think I misunderstood anything, and I am quite certain that accepting the nice big payoff and leaving was in my best interests at the time.

I myself bear no malice or ill-will. I must confess that I have had episodes of Schadenfreude at certain happenings, but I try not to feel that way. I told QC so. He laughed and asked me to do what he thought I did best: teach his offspring. Haha.

Duplicity

If anything can be anything, and everything is an educational experience, then an holistic education is life, no matter how badly lived. That is what I heard a great wise one say today. I have to say I am disappointed.