Welcome, I am Renée Valentina, and this is Musing Interruptus; a podcast meant for sharing thoughts, stories, enjoying idiomatic phrases and words in general. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode. The idiomatic phrases are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Today, If the Shoe Fits.
Some of the best arguments are crafted way after the fact, or just, five seconds after the discussion or argument is over. Having an active imagination, for some, might mean a very intense inner dialogue. I’ll leave it to you to imagine what happens in my mind. This might mean, continuing those conversations, quarrels, heated discussions, arguments, or rows, until resolved. Being involved in a one-sided activity, resolution is not as pleasurable, plus the added I wish I had thought of that when I was defending my point, I wish I had a quicker wit. It is not that I intensely enjoy arguments, it is the construction of truth and solving puzzles verbally. I used to think it was the adrenaline of needing to be right. That was true, long ago. I love having a long ago in my possession. Perhaps with age and why not, a little bit of maturity (just a little) I have discovered worlds of understanding and stages of development. I wouldn’t be a very good teacher if I hadn’t. Searching for truth is not about being right. But back to arguments and not worrying about being right. The construction of a solid argument depends on fact and the objectivity of fact. Seems like objectivity should be inherent to fact. That is, it exists independently of anyone’s subjectivity. In fact, objectivity is an ideal, a guiding light, and not necessarily an absolute, but varying in degree and relying on diverse factors. We should ask a scientist, that is what we should do. This doesn’t mean we can’t get close to the truth. But you can’t just say your facts are objective, even if they are, even if you know. -You can’t see me, but I’m nodding and making the most annoying face you can imagine. The know-it-all face. Frankly, I think in my realm of operation, that should be enough to win any argument. - Mind you, I didn’t say I was that mature. Just a little.
When engaged in an argument, there are certain minimums we need to cover to be right, for instance: the identification of variables, if one variable depends on the other, and in what way. One might explain why their variables are pertinent and provide sound, objective, evidence. If you need to be right, you might consider preparing for the argument like an attorney before a trial. That means a bit of prework and learning about the matter at hand. Considering the diverse angles, factors involved, you need to identify your blind spots, read, read, research. Write the arguments down, on a special yellow legal pad. Emphasis on the legal. This gives an air of seriousness to the construction of arguments. They weigh more on yellow paper with blue horizontal lines and a red line down the left side. On TV shows about lawyers, I seldom see prosecutors pull out a legal pad with their arguments. I think that is why they always lose in the end. Continue Reading

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