Instigator / Con
0
1487
rating
1
debates
0.0%
won
Topic
#1128

Telescopes that can look into the past is the best way to teach History

Status
Finished

The debate is finished. The distribution of the voting points and the winner are presented below.

Winner & statistics
Winner
0
9

After 9 votes and with 9 points ahead, the winner is...

whiteflame
Parameters
Publication date
Last updated date
Type
Standard
Number of rounds
3
Time for argument
One week
Max argument characters
10,000
Voting period
One week
Point system
Winner selection
Voting system
Open
Contender / Pro
9
1724
rating
27
debates
88.89%
won
Description

What the motion means is that if we had telescopes that could look back into the past, could they be the best way to teach History. The structure of the debate will be:
1)Points
2)Rebuttals
3)Rebuttals and Conclusion

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@David

Huzzah!

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@MisterChris

Fair enough. You can now vote.

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@David

Looks like I read it but never clicked "accept"

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@David

hmmmm, well thanks for pointing it out. I need to revisit it then

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@MisterChris

It says you have not yet read the site's code of conduct. There is a medal you receive when you read and accept the code of conduct.

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@David

I have done both I believe

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@MisterChris

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>Reported Vote: christopher_best // Mod action:

>Points Awarded: Tie

>Reason for Decision: Let's be diplomatic and make this a tie. I found both the arguments "another round, another forfeit" and "forfeited" rather convincing and brilliant.

>Reason for Mod Action: This vote is not eligible to vote. In order to vote, an account must: (1) Read the site’s COC AND have completed 2 non-troll/non-FF debate OR have 100 forum posts.
\
************************************************************************

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@Ramshutu

See below

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Vote Reported: Ramshutu // Mod Decision: Removed

NOTE: FF debates are not moderated unless the voter votes for the forfeiting side. Since Ramshutu voted for the forfeiting side, his vote is removed.

*******************************************************************

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@Ramshutu

Wait why are there these rules to begin with?

oromagi

Criterion Con Tie Pro Points
Winner ✗ ✗ ✔ 1 point
Reason: I really would have liked to have seen Whiteflame's argument. I imagine it might have been super good. Alas, the full forfeit. That's core pond duct!

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@PressF4Respect

*******************************************************************
>Reported Vote: PressF4Respect// Mod action: [Removed]
>Points Awarded: Tie

>Reason for Decision: "Neither side made argument

Reason for Mod Action>This vote is not eligible to vote. In order to vote, an account must: (1) Read the site’s COC AND have completed 2 non-troll/non-FF debate OR have 100 forum posts.

*******************************************************************

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@Al0ne

Well, that’s a shame. I’d still like to have this debate. If you comment here or message me in the next 48 hours, we can try to do a 2 round debate. Otherwise, I’ll consider this a full forfeit and try to get the debate deleted - not a fan of winning debates that way.

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@Al0ne

Just a heads up, about 30 hr. left.

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@whiteflame

I'll publish my argument later when I have time.

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@Al0ne

Great. Challenge accepted.

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@whiteflame

Done

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@Al0ne

Checking in again to see if you can change the time to post arguments.

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@Al0ne

Haven't seen the timeframe for arguments change yet. I can usually do 2 days, but I'd like to have a week just in case something goes awry.

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@whiteflame

Alright then.

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@Al0ne

I really don't know what you're hedging against by having that large of a character limit. Honestly, on a debate like this where the subject of the debate isn't something we can deeply research or source, I'd be amazed if either of us managed to reach 10k characters, much less 30k. However, I would like to ensure that this debate is easily readable so that we can get more voters, as Ragnar suggests, and I think allowing for the possibility that one such round occurs is detrimental to that goal.

If course, we are already using telescopes that can look into the past as the best way to learn about astronomy.

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@Al0ne

How exactly is 30,000 a precaution? A precaution against what?

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@Barney

I don't follow.

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@Al0ne

For character limits I suggest pre-write your R1, then triple the length. To attract voters, 5k is the longest you'd want to go, but 10k gives a strong safety net.

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@whiteflame

I will extend the timeframe of it to 1 week but the 30,000 character limit is just a precaution.

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@Al0ne

I'm considering it. I think I can argue for this, and I do love my history. Couple of things: could we extend the timeframe for arguments to 1 week, and could we reduce the character count to 10,000? I don't expect either of us would use the full 30,000 anyway.

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@whiteflame

You want to debate against me? I'm quite new.

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@Al0ne

Nope, makes sense to me.

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@Barney

You can hear sound.

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@whiteflame

To answer your questions:
1) There are no limitations. You can choose where you want to go. Day, time, and location can be selected.
2) No.
3)One-way viewing screens
4) Available teaching tools.

Does that answer your questions or do I need to clarify?

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@Al0ne

Alright, a few questions:

1) How exactly would these work? Would anyone be able to select a day, time and location to view? Are there limitations, and if so, what are they?
2) Can pictures and/or film be taken from the various times and locations viewed through these telescopes?
3) Do these telescopes physically manifest at the time and location of choice, or are they more like one-way viewing screens without physical presence in the past?
4) As Con, are you allowed to proffer a similarly science fiction device as an alternative to compare with these telescopes, or can you only compare with available teaching tools?

They'd be the best way to verify it, but watching (particularly without sound) would take too long for most historical events to be a casual way to learn.