Matt-ism #2

My husbands loves nothing better than to discuss (some would say debate, but I'm going to say 'discuss' as it implies a lack of hostility) heavy or controversial topics. We enjoy to discuss things in a way that it's an intellectual exercise, rather than one side trying to convert the other. Unfortunately, when Matt gets into a discussion with his peers, it turns into a debate.
Have you ever observed a debate? Do you notice that you can tell when a participate has lost the argument (this happens to both sides when observing a political debate, so let's just stick with science here) when they become defensive and emotional? Losing the argument doesn't mean their original point is the losing side, but their defense of it is now void because they have abandoned logic for emotion. This is why a discussion about global warming always turns into a heated debate with (at best) one side using logic and the other using emotion. Maybe instead of saying "using emotion" I could say they become "preachy". Ever observe that? Instead of a discussion it starts to sound like one person is trying to convert rather than persuade?

So, for our Matt-ism of the day:
"Nothing says 'crap science' like an overly aggressive, preachy atheist."

He would love to have a discussion about global warming or creationism with an atheist, provided they don't get aggressive or preachy. (Seriously, he loves to learn other points of view, and having someone intelligently articulate a different point of view than his, he finds really exciting.) Let's have a real discussion about things we disagree on rather than argue with a I'm-right-you're-wrong attitude.

End of soapbox.