A Student's Perspective

Okay, so... Here's something that really  grinds my gears. I find myself debating with people quite a lot in general. It usually leads to an argument of sorts since I try to get my point across in a formal way, yet whomever I'm arguing with doesn't respect the rules of debate. In this article, I aim to lay the foundations of what I consider to be good practice for a casual debate. Note that I will be using the words "debate" and "argument" interchangeably in this article to refer to debate. Problem #1: Logical fallacies This is a universal problem in debating and does not only hold true when arguing among friends or peers. It is extremely important for a debater to know and acknowledge the rules of Formal Logic. If not fully applied, it is at least advisable to know the common pitfalls of logical arguments. First, let me define what I mean by a logical argument: A logical argument is a set of logical statements that are grouped together and use...

Hi! My name is Jaco. I am a student, currently studying Computer Science, at a generic University in South Africa. At this moment, I am choosing not to say which one, partly for selfish reasons and partly because I might say something that I don't want my University's name attached to. Now, let's get into the meat of things... This blog is going to be, completely, 100% my opinion. I will be discussing some, maybe, controversial topics that I am interested in and think there is a lot of misconception about. Now, if you don't agree with something I say and would like to shout at me, or if you just want to tell me about that movie you watched and you really want me to tell the world about it, you are welcome to email me. I am going to try and post at least once a month, but in times that I am busy or writing exams, I might "forget" to write an article. If this is the case, don't shout at me unless you know for   sure I am just being lazy (in which ca...