I tend to find forums in which to debate new concepts in order to make faster progress; being corrected and trying to defend a point are often good motivators for learning more about a subject.

Ah yes, definitely!! I've found that true too. But unfortunately, it doesn't quite work for graduate-level work simply because by then, you get a better command in the literature than just about anyone on any random forum (even if you hang out on the forums with people much smarter than average), and academic societies aren't that great at encouraging debates. :(