The Effect of Debating Without Foundational Knowledge In Place

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A common rookie mistake is jumping straight into debate without even having spun up on the fundamentals of what you’re talking about. The effect is that you think you’re onto something interesting and novel when it’s actually made trivial by foundational knowledge.

If you’re a kid, then the people you’re trying to impress are smiling but shaking their heads like “love the enthusiasm, but you gotta learn your fundamentals kid… right now you don’t really know what you’re talking about, but I’d love to hear what comes out of your mouth once you do.”

But if you’re an adult and you’re still pulling this shit, you don’t get any smiles. Making “teenager brain” mistakes is forgivable and even laughable as a teenager, but as an adult, there’s no humor. You look like a complete moron, a total asshole, you burn bridges, and you lose all respect.

Exhibit A: many argumentative commenters in this thread have not and will not spin up on the basics of real analysis.

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