Wow!  There's a LOT of stuff being hotly discussed on the ol' Internet these days!  And that's a GOOD thing.  Getting thing's out and talking about them is always helpful.

But you know what?

I really don't care all that much about a lot of it.  Certainly not with the *obvious* passion that some of you do.

So I want to talk for a little bit about something I *do* care about - persuading people to a point of view.  Let me tell you, a lot of you aren't doing it.  Perhaps I am not either - but I do try - When I care.

I could list some of the hot-button issues that I see bandied about in places such as FaceBook, and about which I really don't yield an airborne fornication, but I won't, for two reasons:
    1)  I'm really talking about talking
    2) I really don't want the people who are blazingly hot under the collar about those issues to start beating down my virtaul door.

Now, if you really aren't trying to persuade people, feel free to ignore the rest of this.  If when you post articles, status messages, links, replies, etc., you are simply venting, or trying to make yourself feel smart and important, I'm not addressing you.

Observation One - Simple Abuse Persuades No One
"Idiot(s)!"  (fools, sheeple, pawns, dupes, myrmidons, robots, kool-aid drinkers, etc.) 

Odds that I'm an idiot about the subject and point of view you espouse?  Pretty good.  Odds that you'll interest me in exploring your point of view by CALLING me an idiot?  Pretty poor.  It may excite you and energize those who already share your point of view. After all, it plays directly into the "us versus them" dynamic.  But it's an awfully poor persuader.

Observation Two - "Obvious Truth"... isn't
Pretty much once we've gotten past the point of "hey - that pink thing Mommy sticks in my mouth tastes pretty good!", there's not a lot that's really "obvious truth".  Your car makes a funny noise.  You look under the hood.  Nothing.  You take it to your mechanic.  He (or she) looks under the hood.  There's the obvious cause.  The "obvious" nature of what you see pretty much depends on what has come before in your experiences and knowledge relevant to the subject, from cultural heritage to academic training to how much sleep you got last night.  One person's "obvious truth" is rather likely to be someone else's "self evident nonsense".

Observation Three - Dedicated Study and Obsession Aren't That Far Apart
There's a little warning flag that goes off somewhere in the back of my brain when I come across a phrase like, "I've studied this for 20 years, and believe me..."  I just recently finished reading a paperback on the psychology of serial killers (yes - another of my weird interests) and I was constantly struck by one aspect of the book.  The author seemed to have an almost palpable obsession with repeatedly stressing their years of study, as a justification for the validity of their theories.  Sorry - time spent is only relevant when it's relevant, as in "In 20 years of babysitting hundreds of children, I have never seen one spontaneously fly up and bounce off the ceiling."  The more you want to reiterate your dedication to the study of your issue, the more I am likely to suspect you of obsession.

Observation Four - Sometimes They're Just Dots (and Numbers)
If you've ever taken a color blindness test, or looked at one of those "Magic Pictures" where if you stare at the page long enough you can see the picture of the spaceship in 3D, you already know that sometimes the image isn't really obvious.  Just because you have connected the dots, or seen the bottom line, doesn't mean that I have.  And it doesn't mean that I *will* the moment I look, either.

If you want me to see the picture, be prepared to help me connect the dots.  Help me comprehend how these figuresd add up to the bottom line you see.  (And please keep Observation One in mind while you do so.  Please?)

Observation Four - "First, The Dinosaurs Came"
There's a great line in the comedy movie "Airplane", when one charactaer asks another, "Fill me in on everything that's happened so far."  The other character replies, "First, the dinosaurs came.  Then they died and turned into oil.  Then the Arabs came..."

Please, don't think you're "connecting the dots" by recapitulating your entire 20 year oddysey of discovery - in chronological order.  It was fascinating when James Burke did it in "Connections".   Among other things, I knew going into it that he was only going to take an hour.  But when you do it, I'm actually wondering if the train of thought even HAS a caboose.

Observation Six - Mistakes Happen on All Sides
A number of years ago, a fellow published a dictionary for the IT (Information Technology) industry, which included the following defintion: "Martini: An alcoholoc beverage which I will buy for any reviewer who actually reads this far."

I'll bet you noticed that there are two "Observation Four"s, and then we skip straight to Six!  Well, I made a mistake.  I started to go back and fix it, but realized that it was a perfect illustration of my last observation.  If I get any comments about the misnumbering, I'll know they commented without reading further - or by relying on the headings instead of the actual content.

The odds are pretty good one or more of us will commit an error in an online discussion.  Reading ALL the comments and making sure you actually understand the poster's point before responding can go a long way toward being persuasive

Summary
That's pretty much it.  Now go and espouse your point of view.  Just don't be surprised if I'm still yawning.  After all, I'm an obvious idiot.