re: #15 Anymouse 🌹🏡😷

Yup. Fascists don’t win on the strength of their arguments; they win by getting their arguments out to people who haven’t heard them.

Debates aren’t really about changing people’s ideas; they are primarily popularity contests for the audience. Bill Nye’s debate on creationism with Ken Ham did not convince a single creationist to change their position, but it did expose Ken Ham to a far wider audience who had not heard him or his ideas before. A large number of scientists and counter-apologists were dismayed that Mr. Nye actually agreed to such a debate.

in the early days of the theory of natural selection, not only did scientists debate creationists, but clergymen occasionally debated creationists at well. And natural selection fluorished. Maybe the problem isn’t debating fascists or creationists. Maybe the problem is that most people suck at argumentation. Let a scientist with the mind of a contract law professor take on a creationist and creationism would be obliterated.