The Power of Organized Debate: Why We Should Separate Reasons to Agree and Disagree

Today, I want to talk about an idea that I firmly believe in - organizing reasons to agree and disagree with concepts into two separate columns. This simple change could revolutionize the way we approach debates and discussions. Here's why:

1. Streamlining the Decision-Making Process

By separating reasons to agree and disagree, we can create a computer algorithm that assigns points to the main idea based on the number of reasons in each column. This would streamline our decision-making process and allow us to reach more balanced conclusions.

2. Creating a Clear Overview of Every Issue

Imagine if every issue had its own website with a comprehensive list of reasons to agree or disagree. It would make understanding complex topics much easier and encourage more informed discussions.

3. Prioritizing the Best Arguments

Separating reasons to agree and disagree also allows us to highlight the most compelling arguments. By placing the best reasons at the top of each column, we ensure that the strongest points get the attention they deserve.

4. Performing a 'Google Duel'

This format could even allow for a "Google duel" between all the items that agree and disagree. This duel could represent the overall strength of the idea, adding an interesting and dynamic element to our debates.

5. Allowing for User Ratings

We could also introduce a rating system where people rate the reasons to agree or disagree. The overall score of the reasons would contribute or detract from the main idea's score, providing an aggregate view of the debate.

6. Giving Voice to Our Ancestors

This format also allows us to incorporate wisdom from the past. As Abraham Lincoln said, it's important that we are on God's side, or in this context, on the side of truth. A truth-promoting forum like this is safe to investigate both sides of an issue, which is why we should not fear disagreement.

7. Thoroughly Investigating an Idea

One point usually won't convince someone they're wrong. Everyone needs to feel that they got all their reasons out on the table. We're not discounting people's beliefs; we're responding to them. We don't need to silence the other side; we just need to prove that they are wrong.

In conclusion, organizing reasons to agree and disagree into separate columns has the potential to transform our approach to debates and discussions. It encourages thorough investigation, prioritizes strong arguments, and promotes a balanced view of each issue.

Ready to dive into more details or interested in contributing? Explore our platform at Group Intel or check out our project on GitHub. Let's revolutionize the way we debate and discover the power of organized discussion together.

Building the Future of Ideas: An Internet Stock Market for Beliefs

Hey there! I'd love to share something my folks taught me when I was just a kid. Whenever I faced a decision, they encouraged me to make a list of reasons to agree or disagree with an idea. Looking back, it seems like this simple method laid the foundation for an exciting idea: what if we could collect all such lists ever made on the Internet and organize them on a single platform?

This concept became clearer as I delved into the world of stock market investing. The beauty of investing lies not just in the act of buying or selling shares but in the conviction behind these actions. When you put your money on a stock, you're essentially betting on an idea, a belief in the company's future success. This parallel between investing and belief system is fascinating, don't you think?

Imagine if we could create a 'stock market of ideas,' where people could invest in concepts and beliefs as they do in companies. This wouldn't just be a game-changer for scientific advancement, dispute resolution, or politics. It would motivate us to believe in "smarter" things, to question why we hold certain beliefs and whether they're worth "investing" in.

And just like in the stock market, where companies are evaluated and ranked, we could develop algorithms to assign a weighted rank to ideas. These rankings could be based on several factors, like the number of reasons to agree or disagree, and the certainty of the evaluator about the validity of their reasons.

Of course, there's always the risk of such a system being manipulated, just like any financial market. But if we design the platform to encourage not just the exchange of ideas but also in-depth research and discussion, we can mitigate these risks. We can make it a place where data supporting or discounting a position is readily available and easily accessible.

In the past, I've tried to put these ideas into action. I created a website where I outlined categories for people to submit their ideas. The site is no longer active, but thanks to the Wayback Machine, you can check out its architecture and an example of online debate that I proposed.

Now, I'm working on a new and improved platform at Group Intel and you can check out our project on GitHub. I'm excited about the potential of this idea and I'd love to hear your thoughts. Let's revolutionize the way we debate and invest in the power of our beliefs together.

Year 1

A Different Christmas Poem

A Different Christmas Poem   The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,  I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.   My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,  My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.  Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,  Transforming the yard to a winter delight.  The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,  Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.   My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,  Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.  In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,  So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.  The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near,  But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear.   Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know, Then the  sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.  My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,  And I crept to the door just to see who was near.  Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,  A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.   A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,  Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.  Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,  Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.  "What are you doing?" I asked without fear,  "Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!   Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,  You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"  For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift,  Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts..  To the window that danced with a warm fire's light  Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,   I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night."  "It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,  That separates you from the darkest of times.  No one had to ask or beg or implore me,  I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.   My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"  Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers."  My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',  And now it is my turn and so, here I am.  I've not seen my own son in more than a while,  But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.   Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,  The red, white, and blue... an American flag.  I can live through the cold and the being alone,  Away from my family, my house and my home.  I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,  I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.   I can carry the weight of killing another,  Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..  Who stand at the front against any and all,  To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."  "  So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,  Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."  "But isn't there something I can do, at the least,  "Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?  It seems all too little for all that you've done,   For being away from your wife and your son."  Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,  "Just tell us you love us, and never forget.   To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,  To stand your own watch, no matter how long.  For when we come home, either standing or dead,  To know you remember we fought and we bled.  Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,   That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."  PLEASE, would you do me the kind favor of sending this to as many   people as you can? Christmas will be coming soon and some credit is due to our  U.S service men and women for our being able to celebrate these  festivities. Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people   stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed themselves for us.    LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN  30th Naval Construction Regiment  OIC, Logistics Cell One  Al Taqqadum, Iraq

A Landslide

Can supporters of same-sex marriage and those protesting the Mormon Church's involvement help me with something?

President-elect Barack Obama won the election by 6.5 percent nationwide. This is being described as a "landslide" and a "mandate" by the media, Obama supporters and other prominent democrats.

Conversely, the legality of same-sex marriage was on the ballot in three states, two of these states won by President-elect Obama. Of the nearly 20 million votes cast in these three states on the same-sex marriage issue, legal same-sex marriage was defeated by a margin of 56 percent to 44 percent. An 8 percent margin of defeat, larger than Obama's margin of victory.

Should logic not command that this result be defined as a mandate against same-sex marriage? If not, why not?

And instead of blaming "confused" Black voters and the Mormon Church, why are supporters of same-sex marriage avoiding the real culprit? Barack Obama!

Yes, the head of your ticket, leader of your party, savior and generally recognized genius and messiah is an ardent and enthusiastic opponent of same-sex marriage. Always has been! And so are Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, and the majority of elected Democrats nationwide.

You can't convince Barack Obama and Joe Biden to support same-sex marriage and you blame the Mormon Church for your electoral failures? No disrespect, but that's pathetic.

As long as President-elect Obama and other prominent Democrats continue their adamant and enthusiatic opposition to same-sex marriage, the Mormon Church and "confused Black voters" are the least of your problems. - John Watson,Phoenix

JUST "SIN TAXES"

Whatever you tax, you punish. Why would you punish people for working
and making money?
Remember that I am not saying that the government should collect any
more money. Just that we should eliminate the income tax. In order to
replace the revenue loss each city, and state will have to decide
which usage fees, and "sin taxes" they will use to replace the income
tax.
Republicans have good principles, but they rarely follow them. One of
the good principals that republicans talk about, but never seem to
follow threw is the principle of rewarding good behavior and punishing
bad behavior. We should lose taxes that tax good behavior, like income
tax and increase sin vastly increase sin taxes.

The Republican Party is typically seen as your father's party. The
democrats are like your mom. They care about your feelings, but the
republicans have tough love, and tell you to stop feeling sorry for
yourself, and get to work. Parents tend to learn, that if you do stuff
for their kids all the time, the kid will never learn to act by
themselves. Sure, the government can help people who need help, but do
you really deserve help from the government if you skipped class,
didn't do your homework, and never graduated from high school? Our
compassionate side says yes, but our republican side says that to some
point help is a reward for bad behavior.

It should be self evident, and even democrats should realize that if
you reward bad behavior, you are going to get more of it. But what are
some practical ways that we can reward good behavior and punish bad
behavior? Can we really raise the cost of cigarettes and booze any
higher?

I think there are lots of "sins" that we could tax. But I don't want
people like me choosing those sins. I think economist should, or just
the city clerk should determine the true cost of government services.
This might not be a practical idea, but it is something we deal with
every day and serves as a good example : what if the garbage man
charged you buy how many bags of garbage you left? What if someone
walked around and charged every home $20 that didn't have a compost
pile? What if we replaced the income tax with increased energy taxes?
That would put steroids on any motivation there was to insulate your
home.

POSSIBLE "GREEN" SIN TAXES

No compost pile.
Too much pavement.
Too much garbage.
Not enough trees.
No solar panels.
No wind turbine.

POSSIBLE HEALTH SIN TAXES:

Smoking (charged per pack)
Drinking (charged per can)
Marijuana (charged per lb.)
Prostitution (you know how it is collected)
Being over weight

POSSIBLE EDUCATIONAL SIN TAXES

Not knowing geography
Not knowing math
Not knowing specifics about those running for office.
Not knowing a 2nd language
Not having a college degree

POSSIBLE FAMILY SIN TAXES

Not visiting your kids
Not paying child support
Your kids doing poorly in school

Obama is wrong to say that we should "slow development of Future Combat Systems."

Reasons to agree

1. We live in a world were millions of middle-age minded people would like to destroy America. We could throw away all our weapons, and fight them with bronze spears. However diverse modern populations, with equal rights for minorities, that promote civil rights, a free press, the rule of law, and invests in education, health-care, etcetera... these societies are going to have a technological advantage. Those societies that work hard, educate their public, that work efficiently, and allow their women to be productive members of society... those societies that embrace science, reason, law, and education... these societies are the best care-takers of the future. Human histories are full of war. We live in a time when dictators still build statues to themselves, and enslave their populations. Therefore it is important that modern societies have modern weapons. 



2. Societies that use irrational extremism to motivate their geneses to build weapons for them will never be as stable as multi-party democracies, with the rule of law. Hitler forced a lot of scientist to work for him, and they built some very cutting edge plains. They almost beat the free world to building the nuclear bomb. If they had succeeded, we would all have been speaking German. But in the long run, many of these scientist wore forced to work for Germany. Those that could escape to the west (like Einstein who fled Europe when he saw the Nazis come to power) fled to the free world. In the long run, good modern societies, are going to have smart people want to be a part of them. This is part of why our immigration policy should be used to recruit the brightest people from all over the planet, and try to get them to stay here in America. 


3. Patriotism, love of democracy, and the desire for peace are not the only things that would inspire smart people to build great weapons. Religious fanatism can also motivate smart people to build new weapons. Perceived injustices, nationalism, money, and misinformation perpetuated by a state-ran media, can all be used by power hungry governments to motivate their scientist. But scientist who are stupid enough to be manipulated will never build weapons that are as good as the scientist who are willing to work for the causes of freedom, democracy, equality, and a pursuit of rational justice. 


4. Evil people are going to develop future combat systems. If we enjoy life, and want our children to be free, we have to build better weapons. 


5. Evil people don't build weapons because good people do. But good people have to build weapons because evil people do.

Movies that disagree

1. Iron Man's main character, Tony Stark, closes his weapons business before he found out how evil that one guy was. 



2. Almost every movie today disagrees. The 2nd Batmat had an evil weapons dealer. Their was that movie "Lord of War", with a guy just like Tony Stark who was a weapons dealer.