There's been an annoying trend that people are continuing. There is a normal debate question, another normal debate question, then a question asking you to prophesize the future. The questions will be like, agree with A or B (ok question) then agree with C or D (good question) and then what will E think (BAD QUESTION).

Then there are the other bad questions which seem to require a Ph. D. knowledge of biology or law to answer, things like


Suggestion: end questions that are prophetical, or questions that have answers that we can not understand or predict.

Please.

blingice,

Nobody is an expert on every topic that comes on the board. There is so much knowledge that someone could read 24/7 for 50 years and only know a fraction of what's out there.

I would suggest that you reply to those topics that you do understand and forget the ones you don't.

I've been here a little over a year. I don't try to reply to every topic. I try to make one or two quality posts a day. In 14 months, I've made nearly a thousand posts. Sometimes I've come up with gems, but I've laid some eggs, too. That's the risk you take in posting here or anywhere else.

I hope this helps.
BoF

Maybe prophetic questions reflect an uncertainty about the future in the debate initiator, or as with the example of feeling pain, a speculation that perhaps can't be answered, but the debate initiator feels or thinks it's an important consideration.

Educated guessing is a part of debate, especially when we argue policies. What will happen if such and so happens? Well, sometimes it's just strident ideology yammering, but that goes on regularly. Other times it is thoughtful analysis of cause/effect relationships.

Lower taxes and what will happen? Raise debt and what will happen? Privatize a current government program, and you get . . .

Local elections will be taking place around here in November. The air is thick with speculations on a few key issues, and as always, people have their own ideas on how things will work out.

Mine happen to be accurate