Tuesday, October 10, 2006

About HonestArgument.com

At their best, blogs and other forums (fora) on the net serve as individual nodes in a great and widespread conversation. However, these media inherently suffer from multiple flaws, the most important of which is that you rarely see an attempt at cataloguing the entirety of an argument. In the few cases where this is laid out, it is almost always done so in a simplistic list of assertions for and against the argument.

HonestArgument.com is a place where people gather to discuss topics big and small, to hash out a complete argument. What makes this site especially interesting is that the argument is mapped out visually, in a tree structure of supporting and refuting assertions, until the argument reaches a natural conclusion.

The arguing, of course, is not the point of the site, but simply the means of getting there - exposing the half-truths, untruths and fallacies that the hacks use to convince you that their side is right. Just as importantly, the hacks don't get to hide from inconvenient facts, or assertions that fail to fit neatly into their belief systems.

Simply put, HonestArgument.com imposes structure and completeness on an argument.

An argument starts with a thesis, along with a few assertions that support and/or refute that thesis. Once the user community starts discussing the argument, additional assertions are identified and each of the assertions is extended out with its own supporting and refuting assertions.

The result is not only a complete argument, in which all of the points and counterpoints are identified, but the argument is mapped out into a visual structure that enables a holistic understanding of the topic.

HonestArgument.com is a free site and open to all. We hope to discuss sports, movies, music, politics, technology or any topic that you feel could benefit from structure and completeness.

So head on over to http://HonestArgument.com and join the fray!