(A)n argument is an intellectual process… contradiction is just the automatic gainsaying of any statement the other person makes.
No, it isn’t.
– Monty Python, The Argument Sketch
I’ve recently had occasion to argue with an idiot. Every time I find myself in this position, I’m reminded of my brother’s advice that you can’t make sense of the insensible. So here are the tell-tale signs:
- You’re just finding that they automatically gainsay everything you say. To test this (as if you really care), throw in a few statements that no one could possibly have a problem with. You’ll be surprised how often an idiot will just disagree without thinking. That’s because they’re not used to thinking, and they’re not really listening.
- It’s sticky. It goes and goes. It’s like playing whack-a-mole with ideas, or cutting heads off the proverbial hydra.
- It’s all about them. The idiot cannot see anything from any point of view other than his or her own. An intelligent person can understand a position whether they agree with it or not. An idiot can’t get outside their own skin long enough.
Well, I could say more, but I’m extremely tired. In addition to working about 24 hours of the last 48 on a bicycling event, I’ve had to argue with an idiot in the process.