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Brillyant comments on Open thread for January 1-7, 2014 - Less Wrong Discussion

2 Post author: NancyLebovitz 01 January 2014 03:54PM

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Comment author: Brillyant 03 January 2014 09:22:28PM 1 point [-]

I don't expect him to beat a professional (and a very successful) debater.

The word we'd need to better define is "beat".

Will WLC appear to win the debate? Likely. Will he appear to overwhelm his opponent? Likely. Will he succeed at framing the debate in a way that suits his position? Overwhelmingly likely.

The debate takes place in front of his home crowd (an Evangelical theological seminary). WLC will gallop his way to "victory" again, methinks.

Comment author: Douglas_Knight 04 January 2014 07:48:34PM 0 points [-]

If you predict that he'll win under every definition of "beat" that you suggest, why do you need your initial disclaimer that the definition matters?

Comment author: Brillyant 06 January 2014 03:56:33AM 1 point [-]

Because he won't actually win anything, anymore than a rabbit actually disappears inside a top hat or a woman actually gets sawed in half and restored.

Debates are of limited value in this way: The correct argument can rather easily lose. WLC is a great example of why and how.

Comment author: Dorikka 06 January 2014 04:04:41AM 2 points [-]

Because he won't actually win anything

Other than status.