Tuesday, April 03, 2007

Polarized Partisan Debate - An Optical Metaphor


Find two friends, one Republican and one Democrat. Have them close their eyes, and seat one directly in front of the screen, and place the other looking at the screen from at least fifteen feet (five meters) away. At a safe distance, find a comfortable seat, open a bottle of scotch and pour yourself a stiff drink. Tell your friends to open their eyes and ask them these three questions:
  1. Is the person in this image smart or sexy?
  2. Is the person in this image young or old?
  3. Is the person in this image a man or a woman?
Without changing positions or perspective, or permitting either to move closer to or further from the screen, have them discuss and debate their views until they agree -or- the bottle is empty -or- you fall off the chair.

Welcome to the world of polarized, partisan, political debate in the United States today.

Hat tip to Dr. X and Neurophilosophy for the image.

Divided and Balanced.™ Now that is fair.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm thrilled that someone got it. And that's a nifty little experiment you've devised to drive the point home.

mw said...

Yes...but... I have a crushing hangover. No need to yell like that Doc. And could you take a look at this bump on my head? I think I must have fallen off the chair.