I went to college with a kid who introduced himself to the class as a Mensa member on day 1. it was a logics class.
halfway through the semester I argued my point logically against him in a debate in front of the class and won. he was embarrassed as fuck and as red as a tomato. he was so pissed that he lost against me because he believed I was inferior to him.
my tactic was to get him emotionally flustered on his stance, which he vehemently believed in, and argue logical arguments regardless of their logical context to his stance.
for example if his stance was “all abortions are wrong.” my argument was, “if abortions are wrong and death is wrong then abortions that save life are right because abortions don’t kill people. so if abortions don’t kill people all abortions are right.” cue up a tit for tat back and forth for 15 minutes and I win the debate point for point.
anyway, we didn’t see him for the rest of the semester and he dropped out entirely.
I kinda feel bad a bit because it was clear he was on the spectrum and I used that to my advantage but the dude was a dick.
point is Mensa is a dick stroking competition and you’re better off avoiding it.
This is a fun story but I have to ask, what’s your definition of people if you say abortions don’t kill people? Couldn’t this guy have attacked you easily at that point?
I know nothing about debating or logics, so just wondering.
my tactic was to get him emotionally flustered on his stance, which he vehemently believed in, and argue logical arguments regardless of their logical context to his stance.
it wasn’t a debate class. the debates were merely a vessel to convey the logical process. we took time to dissect each of the arguments, which were written before hand and shared with the class. just as the “debate” took place. the rules were pretty simple
teams were identified early, so you knew who you were debating
topics were identified at the same time.
write as many arguments(“ammo”) as you can think of on one sheet of paper(front and back)
use one class period to work through the logical arguments to ensure they are logically sound, can use the aid of the teacher
you can only use your “ammo” and cannot deviate from it or make new ones up on the spot
if you run out of “ammo” or cannot use the “ammo” you have you must concede
so before the debate I already knew the topic and person I was going against. I already profiled him and knew if I overwhelmed him there was no way I’d lose. my arguments weren’t factually backed, but logically sound. I don’t know how many arguments I wrote, but it was probably at least 50. all with varying degrees of potential that could be used against anything he could throw at me. god, Jesus, Satan, whores, sluts, incest, rape. all of it was there.
he brought a knife to a gun fight and I beat the shit out of him with a baseball bat.
the teacher actually approached me after the semester and commented that I seemed to have a deep understanding of logical thought and I should probably pursue a career in software or become a paralegal. it was his last semester teaching there and I’d like to think I made it memorable 😅. it still is one of my favorite classes in college. a close second and third were my classes in psychology and sociology.
I went to college with a kid who introduced himself to the class as a Mensa member on day 1. it was a logics class.
halfway through the semester I argued my point logically against him in a debate in front of the class and won. he was embarrassed as fuck and as red as a tomato. he was so pissed that he lost against me because he believed I was inferior to him.
my tactic was to get him emotionally flustered on his stance, which he vehemently believed in, and argue logical arguments regardless of their logical context to his stance.
for example if his stance was “all abortions are wrong.” my argument was, “if abortions are wrong and death is wrong then abortions that save life are right because abortions don’t kill people. so if abortions don’t kill people all abortions are right.” cue up a tit for tat back and forth for 15 minutes and I win the debate point for point.
anyway, we didn’t see him for the rest of the semester and he dropped out entirely.
I kinda feel bad a bit because it was clear he was on the spectrum and I used that to my advantage but the dude was a dick.
point is Mensa is a dick stroking competition and you’re better off avoiding it.
This is a fun story but I have to ask, what’s your definition of people if you say abortions don’t kill people? Couldn’t this guy have attacked you easily at that point?
I know nothing about debating or logics, so just wondering.
Glad you made him cry though
Claims “high IQ”, holds right wing views.
God that prickly sounds insufferable.
To be fair, debate classes often involve arguing for positions you’re personally opposed to.
I know, but this wasn’t the case
it wasn’t a debate class. the debates were merely a vessel to convey the logical process. we took time to dissect each of the arguments, which were written before hand and shared with the class. just as the “debate” took place. the rules were pretty simple
so before the debate I already knew the topic and person I was going against. I already profiled him and knew if I overwhelmed him there was no way I’d lose. my arguments weren’t factually backed, but logically sound. I don’t know how many arguments I wrote, but it was probably at least 50. all with varying degrees of potential that could be used against anything he could throw at me. god, Jesus, Satan, whores, sluts, incest, rape. all of it was there.
he brought a knife to a gun fight and I beat the shit out of him with a baseball bat.
the teacher actually approached me after the semester and commented that I seemed to have a deep understanding of logical thought and I should probably pursue a career in software or become a paralegal. it was his last semester teaching there and I’d like to think I made it memorable 😅. it still is one of my favorite classes in college. a close second and third were my classes in psychology and sociology.