Peoplw who are too arrogant and/or so bigheaded that they can't admit they're wrong are probably the worst kind of people out there. We all know the type. They will start debates and arguments on topics they know nothing about, use nothing but circular logic to prove their point. Once it starts, all you can do is just walk away or change the subject, which leaves the other person thinking they're right all along. What a hideous cycle!

I just had such an encounter, and I was an idiot for thinking I could hav e an intelligent conversation with this person because I know that he's like this. Anywaaay, he mentioned something he read about bacteria that convert garbage into crude oil. Being the microbiology student that I am, I expressed my skepticism, we talked about for a bit, and I though that was all over. A few minutes later, he goes over to the computer and pulls up the article he found. I read it, first noticing that it was about the production of ethanol and not crude oil, and I still remained skeptical about it being a viable and efficent process. I told him what he thought, and we debated for a while.

Do you know what his argument consisted of? "You're just being negative," "In 1960 they thought going to the moon was impossible," and "You're just being negative."

And now a breakdown of the beefs I have going on:

1. If you're going to bring something up, know what you're talking about. There's a pretty big difference between ethanol and crude oil.

2. If you're going to talk science, you should know science. I'm not saying that you should avoid talking about science and technology if you don't have a PhD (I'm not even out of college yet), but, for the love of pie, structure you're argument around SCIENCE and not emotional appeal.

3. The world will not come to an end if you admit that you have no clue what you're talking about!

I don't know much about science and I'm certainly not a microbiology student. In fact, I flunked science completely when I was in highschool. But... isn't ethanol and crude oil like... kind of two different things? XD;

Some people are morons. Those types of people, although difficult for me to walk away from purely because of how redundant they look, really should just be ignored. They let themselves look like morons, and that's their choice. xD

I know this bit really isn't the point of your rant, and I don't mean to hijack it, but I actually ran across a similar article a few weeks ago.

Link to rest of article

Perhaps he showed you the wrong source? O-o That would probably explain his indignation. x-x

I do have somewhat of a political background. I'm very active in the Citizen Journalism scene. I get paid to write articles for all these websites. Half the articles I wrote required extensive research. The other half was knowledge I had already obtained and so forth. Though I myself am not majoring in any type of science field, I do have to say that there is a major difference between crude oil and ethanol.

To beta, the guy arguing with you just doesn't know how to admit when he is wrong. That's as simple as that. I would say just let the poor person argue. Just because he can continue to argue a point, it does not mean he's correct. The more he tries to argue that point, he's going to look stupid even more.

And yes, there is a major difference between crude oil and ethanol.

I'm not an expert on science, but I've had experiences where people won't admit they're wrong. It's frustrating, but people who are like this aren't able to see things your way. Maybe it's a pride issue this person has, or a case of being stubborn? I have no clue.

gah! i hate that! though, quite a few people have those moments. i know i'm stubborn at times but i refuse to argue with someone and if i'm wrong, i'm wrong. and i won't discuss something that i have no idea about. especially when it seems like that person is out to prove that they are right. it's just idiotic and childish to even waste time with it. and i get frustrated easily, which isn't good.

i feel for you. but if there's one thing i've learned, it's to brush them off. because, in the words of my stepdad, they're just talkin out of the side of their neck.