As Common As a Goldfish

"My goldfish is better than yours!"
"No it isn't!"
"Yes it is!"
"Mine's better because my goldfish can rap."
"That's stupid, goldfish can't sing."

Yes. No. Yes. No.
These aren't good arguments because, well, they're not arguments. It's more like a one-way boast or even a fight, much like some "arguments" I have with my mom.

"Don't talk back to me like that!"

Well, that's how a conversation works.
I've tried countless times to employ the things I learn here to win an argument with my mother, and I've reached the conclusion that I cannot win. Maybe it's because of the "respect your elders" attitude a lot of Asians have (which apparently means "adults are always right and you're dumber than a goldfish") or maybe all mothers are like that.

But I digress.
I'm supposed to be writing something that "deals exclusively with terms" from the reading. Uh... Plan B.

To convince someone, you should start with the commonplace, and there are five terms to be defined here:

The Adventageous: The persuasion that makes the audience believe that your own choice is the advantageous one.

The Commonplace: Any belief or value that can serve as a generalized version of the public opinion.

Babbling: Stuff that the audience repeats over and over again. It's probably a commonplace.

The Commonplace Label: Making something seem commonplace, making anyone who opposes it seem like an outsider.

The Rejection: When the audience turns you down, it'll probably have a commonplace.

And this is where cliches might help. No, not the kind of horrid cliches in the 2012 movie. Speaking of which, the end is nigh.


Then, there are other terms that are important for labeling, the attaching of favorable words and connotations to people and concepts. These are the kinds of things that you'll notice a lot the next time you're watching the presidential debate. Stuff like that. Watch the debate(s) here, by the way.

Term Changing: Not accepting the term your opponent is using and using your own.

Redefinition: Attacking the opponent's terms while changing their connotations.

Definition Jujitsu: Using the opponent's terms to attack (if they favor you).

Definition Judo: Using terms that contrast with the opponent's, making them seem bad.

Honestly speaking, these are things that I haven't paid much attention to, but now that I know about it, I know that it exists everywhere.

I guess the world could do with more of such "smart" arguments rather than goldfish fights or stubborn parents.

Oh, well.