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In reply to the discussion: The death of text. [View all]bhikkhu
(10,761 posts)Writing an argument is a fundamentally different operation from speaking an argument. Some people are good at making verbal arguments, but that's a pretty rare talent. More often you find someone who is good at speaking, but who doesn't really make arguments at all, rather the more common thing is making observations. That's a much different thing, and less useful in many ways, especially if there is a questionable argument that underpins them, sitting unaddressed.
What you wind up with is not so much the communication of information, but the solicitation of trust. Which is to say - we don't get enough information to make a fact-based decision one way or another, but we do have the ability to choose to trust the speaker or not. It's definitely a different thing.