From _Why People Believe Weird Things_, Michael Shermer, W. H. Freeman and Company, New York, 1997, p. 153. Dr. Shermer is discussing Creationism, and chapter 10 is titled "Confronting Creationists," and subtitled "Twenty-five Creationist Arguments, Twenty-five Evolutionist Answers." If confronted by a creationist, we would be wise to heed the words of Stephen Jay Gould, who has encountered creationists on many an occasion: Debate is an art form. It is about the winning of arguments. It is not about the discovery of truth. There are certain rules and procedures to debate that really have nothing to do with establishing fact -- which they are very good at. Some of those rules are: never say anything positive about your own position because it can be attacked, but chip away at the weaknesses in your opponent's position. They are good at that. I don't think I could beat the creationists in debate. [...] (Caltech lecture, 1985)
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