Why do some people get into hours worth of arguments about things that they cannot change? For example, I just don’t see debating why the sky is blue as practical.
There are many things in the world that are not practical, but IMO intellectual debate takes first place.
But, this is just my humble opinion. 
Some debate to try to change opinions. Some debate to present or receive information. Some debate to try to get a broad philosophical grounding. Some debate for the sheer helluvit.
Cite?
But mostly for me the purpose of debate to be to entertain myself. Its like doing crossword puzzles.
Who says they don’t change anything? They may not change their opponent’s mind, but they might change the opinions of some people who AREN’T participating in the debate, who’s opinions aren’t so set in stone.
Just goes to show that no matter how funny you think you are, real life beat you to it.
Shouldn’t this be in Great Debates?
Actually, I learn more from Great Debates and think harder there than I do anywhere else. Themis00 watching television isn’t at all practical either, and I think I could probably work up a pretty good argument (a Great Debate?) that reading fiction isn’t either, especially given the amount of mystery and science fiction I read.
Actually, I could also argue that Great Debates is practical in that it lets me see why people whose opinions differ greatly from mine hold those opinions and how they came to them. I still may not choose to agree with them, but I can understand them better and get along with them better. It’s a lot harder to say “All X are Y!” when you’ve had a few encounters with X’s who are not Y. I’ve even found some of them don’t see why anyone would want to be Y either.
By the way, tomndebb, I think GD might be more addictive than crossword puzzles. I don’t think of answers to crossword puzzles in the dead of night, but I have been known to dream up counterarguments. 
CJ
Yep, I’m still a geek.
Themis00 wrote:
I agree that you can’t change by debate why the sky is blue. But I rather disagree with the implied statement that you can’t change peoples views through debate. A well done debate (as opposed to a screaming match where neither side listens) continues to work in your mind for a long time after the debate is over. Over time you are forced to reconcile all this input, sometimes coming to a different conclusion.
I agree. I enjoy lively debate. It lets me see what other people think, as well as letting me excercise my mind. School does so little that makes my brain actually work, but debating makes it stretch in new directions. I find it challenging and fun.
~monica
(FTR: the link I posted quotes Dangerosa. It is not original with me. )
I agree. In fact, at the research planning session tomorrow, I’m going to put a halt to all pointless explorations into the nature of the world we live in.
Remember kids, knowledge = suckiness
And exploring the nuisances of a topic = boringitude
And JFTR, the sky is blue because of the nature of light and a phenomenon known as refraction… but I don’t mean to introduce suckiness into this enlightened topic.
as long as my mind can change the filter settings, i’ll prefer to call it cyan
dreamer is your sock!
[John Lithgow]
I Knnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnew it!
[/John Lithgow]
Psst Waverly: nuance. Nuisance is like Dennis the Menace.
I debated a little in high school and in college and it can be fun just for the hell of it. It’s especially fun to take positions that you totally disagree with and try to “prove” it. The hard part is finding people who can handle a debate. I’ve been lucky in that regard in that most of my friends are able to handle the idea that a good discussion/debate is a pleasure in and of itself.
Sometimes one feels compelled to enter the fray to influence third parties when some ignorant goon like chumpsky, sailor (the communist), or virgowitch is spouting drivel. In those cases you have to try to stay on task and press your points with logic and evidence in the hopes that anybody listening will see the goons for what they are. In a sense, people like that are quite similar to Saddam Hussien (sp?) in that Saddam is the only person in the world who doesn’t know that he lost the Gulf War.
Debating is also a good way to explore (sp?) your views on topics and add depth & texture to your position. As often as not someone will make a good point that may make you rethink your position which allows to let your world view to mature or strenghten as you work out the new problem.
punha: It was a pun… err maybe I didn’t notice what spellchecker was up to. One or the other.
For me, some debates are very interesting and educational while others do nothing for me. Arguements that I’m sick of tend to have the least effect on me and I just ignore them.
I’m more of a watcher than anything. I get really pissed of easily, so I try to stay out of actual debate.
I agree with jurhael. Some debates in GD are just plain annoying and are repetitive, such as “Are Mormons full of it?” “I’m an Athiest who hates christians” “Racism against whites” and the likes. I tend to the debates about modern stuff that’s happening, like “Does the government care about North Korea?” or “Will JFK really send men to the Moon?”
Debates clarify what our differences really are. By page 3 they tend to have lost some stuffing (mostly straw), and usually turn out to be much smaller in person. Most of the contestant have switched from the broad brush to putting in the finer details, everyone’s pet arguments have been trotted out and had a nice bit of exercise, and the metaphor are happily mingling for a nice drink.
'S heartwarming, really…
CJ speaks for me (as usual). In addition to the fact that a large number of third parties are reading what you have to say, and may be influenced by it, there’s also the wonderful advantage of learning more about how other people think and how they view issues. I recently discovered that Xenophon41 and I have very similar perspectives on certain metaphysical questions that we have discussed in the past, cloaking them in traditional categorical language that masked our basic agreement. That to me is very warming and edifying.
I am the richer for what others have seen fit to vouchsafe me in their posts, whether I agree with them or not.