Reader Yardley’s observation on the endless back and forth between a peculiar commenter and her critics here is worthy of Comment of the Day status, if only to make us pause to consider why we are arguing, and what we are really arguing about. Here is his observation on the Most Entertaining Ethics Alarms Discussion Ever…

“I can’t help but wonder what the value of such debates are once the primary points and counter points have been stated, and restated; then restated once again ad nauseum. I don’t have the answer of course, but it has got my wheels spinning. Maybe there’s merit in it, or maybe it’s about flexing our egos, or maybe it’s a sort of meme warfare… ideas battling it out for control over our brains. Certainly, it is entertainment! The most I can say is that the spectacle of it all somehow subtracts from content. Worse yet, at a certain point those on the rational side of the argument only serve to give status to the mistaken party. When a clash of ideas turns into a Hundred Years’ War, even the winners get a bloody nose.”

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Graphic: XKCD