Tuesday, March 15, 2011

trolindemphilosphers

Trolling kids being philosophical is super duper easy if you follow these two simple steps taught to me by Plato.

1. Bait.
Make sure they think you care about what they are saying and that they think you think they are making sense. A lot of people when they are trying to be philosophical don't make sense or make very little sense, pretend they are. Nodding and saying umhum helps here a lot.

2. Question.
Make sure you wait until they have finished making a point before you respond. If they try to let their point go by uncontested make sure you say something like "wait" or "stop to ensure you are able to say something. Always respond with a question, particularly one that is hard to answer.  Questions put people on the defensive which is where you want them to be, constantly having to justify themselves. 

This question can take numerous forms:
You can slide down a nice slippery slope.
Them: Women should be able to choose whether or not to get an abortion.
Me:  So killing babies is okay?

Them: Abortions are wrong.
Me: What if the baby came as the result of a rape? Are you advocating for the spread of rape genes?

You can say false things.
Them: Marijuana should be legalized.
Me: Doesn't marijuana kill brain cells?

You can appeal to authority
Them: We should cut taxes.
Me: How do you know better than the government?

You can insult them.
Them: Bread is a wonderful food.
Me: Um are your parents related?

ECT

Remember your purpose is to make them angry not to make sense. If you run out of things to think about keep asking "why?" eventually they will not have a reasonable answer. Good luck trolling.

Two videos talking about why questions:
stand up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u2ZsoYWwJA&t=7m35s
WATCH THIS ONE SO GOOD

UNRELATED SUPER GOOD SONG

EDITED FOR READABILITY