Want to win every argument? The catch is it's not necessarily on your terms.

The only true way to change someone's mind is with a truth (to them)
bigger then the truth being contested.

Why it's not OK to cash in on tragedies.

In many Western cultures we judge someone on their actions and determin how harshly by their motive.  Big business aligning themselves with a tragedy happens frequently with relaxed casual connections through social media.  Woolworths in Australia aligned themselves with the ANZACs Story here
On the face of it,  it does seem to have good intentions,  but we need to stop and think.  What is there motive? Simple. Traffic,  clicks,  brand awareness/alignment and of course profit.  There is not one business out there that does good just because.  If they did,  we would not hear about it, and if they did,  it wouldn't be the business but the people in it doing it individually.  I don't care how amazing their marketing department is...  Any tragedy that no one asked their opinion on,  yet gives it anyway is all about money....  Shame...  For Shame.

Lazy Gullible Fools (power of association)

Ever heard the term 'power of association'? Why is it so important to us?  Does it help the feeling of trust without having to think and make our own decisions?

This article inspired my thoughts today.

http://mobile.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/bda-releases-top-5-worst-celebrity-diets-to-avoid-in-2015/story-fneuz8zj-1227153552000

Are we lazy? Are we foolish? Or are we just misguided by the world's propaganda?

I Understand That I Don't Understand

If there is something you don't get,  you don't understand,  then you don't get it and don't understand.

http://mobile.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/dramatic-moment-miracle-baby-was-pulled-from-storm-drain-after-surviving-five-days/story-fnii5s3x-1227132456229

I'm reading this article and I'm not understanding why the mother did what she did...  Then I realised,  I don't understand because I don't understand...  Anything that happens obviously happened and everything happens for a reason regardless of if we understand or not... We will never be inside the minds of these people and few have the ability to explain why,  and even if they do,  that doesn't mean we will accept what they have to say... But once again that doesn't change that it happened and it happened for a reason regardless if we understand why,  or we don't.

Both Good and Bad

If you don't think all you'll ever use is instinct...

Depending on who you are you could take that either way.

The Cycle of Greed (rise and fall)

Greed.  Greed can be the builder and the destroyer.  Think of someone with a good idea,  works hard,  is resourceful, takes time to develop the product and idea,  finely tunes and ultimately becomes a success...  This success gives them  more money and options which is then used to build up more and then to build on top of that...  They becomes more successful than was ever planned...  Where is the peak? At some point,  they realise maybe you could make more by cutting costs,  speeding up processes,  floating the company,  bringing in outsiders to diversify and reach wider audiences... Now there's not just expectations but targets that an accountant,  a lawyer and a stock broker start to enforce,  you have a bad week...  Oh no,  profits are down,  cut something from the budget,  investigate what happened,  create safety nets but can't spend any more money...  Cut costs,  move funding from the original projects and departments to stop legal proceedings,  satisfy the spread sheets,  cut more staff,  get fewer to do more,  simple maths right? Bad reviews,  people are complaining,  customers are leaving,  loyalty is down,  skepticism is up...  Share prices fall...  Panic...  Cut more costs to keep profits up,  product suffers, quality people no longer want to work there or be associated with your brand...  Hopes of less skilled cheaper workers with expensive consultants/managements become the plan...  It turns from practice to pure theory and numbers on a page,  why is the company still failing. There are only so many excuses investors will accept,  they leave in droves,  debts are piling up,  sell and sack and ship to keep a float... It sinks with nothing left but the thoughts that inspired,  maintained and destroyed it.

Know where to start,  know where to stop. 

Open to Being Closed

Isn't it unusual...  We live in what some would say, a closed minded world...  But more and more are becoming open minded,  and in a way forcing their open minded message on 'closed minded' people (which is only a perception from your point of view) ... So why are the 'open minded' closed to the idea of being closed...  So to be open minded is to accept others choices with sometimes the absence of understanding ... If we were truly open minded,  maybe we would stop trying to train the closed minded to think like us.

Fighting unfair

Is the accusations of sexism,  racism,  homophobia ways to win arguments?

Just un-intelligent arguments to justify or enforce someone's way of life and shunning others points of difference and preferences.

Sometimes we can't articulate what we mean in an argument,  so we try to get the! 'right result' by finding other ways of winning. Just because you can't articulate as well as the other guy,  doesn't mean you're less right, but it also doesn't give you the right to find alternative hurtful points that have nothing to do with the argument you're trying to win for the sake of winning.

Fight fair.

Inner world, outer world

What if you had no way of saying what you had to say,  or showing how you feel,  demonstrating your meaning or even having no way of letting others know you 'exist'

www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/10/14/it-was-being-buried-alive-what-its-have-locked-syndrome

Although this is the most extreme example,  I believe most of us in some way have trouble communicating ... And in the western world that my perspective comes from,  who ever articulates best is right...  But are they?  Just because someone is better at rationalization does that make them more right than the person that can't say what they're trying to say?