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Alternatives to the Socratic Method



>>>>> "Chris" == Chris Lamb <lamby@debian.org> writes:

    Chris> Personally, I have been over-indulgent in using such "devil's
    Chris> advocate" positions in the past, but after some feedback I
    Chris> realised that it did not have the intellectually stimulating
    Chris> quality I was hoping for and merely distanced myself from
    Chris> whom I wished to convince.  After reducing my usage and
    Chris> spending moretime & effort adopting alternative modes of
    Chris> argument I found my attempts to connect with and ultimately
    Chris> persuade others to be far more effective.

I'd be really interested in the alternatives you're found helpful twhen
what you really have are a lot of questions.

When I find I have a strong emotional reaction to something I like to
try and step back and honestly learn about it.  For me that generally
involves a lot of questions.
But even through email I find that it is sometimes obvious while I'm
asking those questions that there are strong emotions under the surface.
Often by the time I get answers, the emotions are gone, and I approach
the answers and then develop a reasoned position.
So I'd love to learn what has worked for you when you do find that you
have a lot of questions about something.

--Sam


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