Leading ourselves up the garden path – confirmation bias and Croydon
A recent Twitter conversation with fellow Croydonian David White and an unknown person in Cumbria brought me up against my old enemy: confirmation bias. It may not sound like a formidable opponent,...
View ArticlePUBLIC DEBATE: Which contributes more to society – art or technology?...
Art and Technology or Art versus Technology? Undoubtedly, art and technology stand as two of the most potent drivers of civilisation since the beginning of human history. Yet, are they really as...
View ArticleWhat a load of rubbish: debating Croydon’s fly-tipping troubles
A debate about fly-tipping wouldn’t be a long one. Speakers to propose the motion ‘this house believes fly-tipping is of benefit to Croydon’ would be hard to find. So the modest-but-engaged audience...
View ArticleCroydon Debate Club’s first season
Let’s not re-visit the arguments, but both sides were guilty. Wild exaggeration, presenting the predictions of economic models with dubious input assumptions as fact, pretending to know the future and...
View ArticleUnderstanding the other: the Coulsdon and Purley Debating Society
Croydon is full of opposing ideas, and we often hear that we are more politically polarised than ever before. I’m not sure that that’s true – however, with 100+-channel TV, the internet, and social...
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