You know why I like debating other folks here on DU?

[bhikkhu]

28. That's what I like too

Usually I try to have all my ducks in a row and a handful of references in my back pocket (a good habit I learned in college), but then I still am surprised sometimes, and the conversations are generally informative. Sometimes I find that I'm wrong, or haven't really understood someone's perspective, which are mind-building things to realize. Along with my 8k posts or so, there are probably another 8k times I hit "reply" and began to write, then realized I needed more information to make an effective statement (knowing I'd be called on it), then rushed off in search of back-up, only to find that I was actually wrong. More posts abandoned than posted.

DU can drive me to distraction sometimes, but I believe that it does help to make us all more effective.

On occasion I read other forums elsewhere, and the most striking difference is that lack of real discussion, the lack of critical thinking, and (most discouraging and all too often) the absence of facts.