As a former card carrying Debate Club member, I suppose this article may be helpful for people who aren&#x27;t used to having these arguments. But I don&#x27;t believe it is very helpful for most interactions on anything really controversial right now.<p>Most people making arguments for &quot;the other side&quot; haven&#x27;t actually had to defend them against real criticism. They also are usually not the originators of their position, they&#x27;re forwarding the ideas from someone else, so they don&#x27;t necessarily even understand <i>what it is</i> they are articulating.<p>Trying to engage with someone who doesn&#x27;t know how to argue and doesn&#x27;t actually grasp their ideas is about as productive as trying to argue with a 4-chan meme. I&#x27;ve long ago decided to just put my 2-cents in a single time, if I feel they&#x27;re saying something really stupid, then move on.