When Lowell House resident tutor Bo Seo ’17 HLS ’24 joined The Harvard Crimson for an interview on an early Tuesday morning last month, the most familiar and striking backgrounds appeared on his Zoom screen. Behind Seo was a Harvard-issued wooden bookcase, adorned with several strategically arranged shelves containing his debut novel “Good Arguments: How Debate Teaches Us to Listen and Be Heard.”
Part memoir, part compendium on competitive debate, and part call to action, “Good Arguments” traces Seo’s life from toddler to young professional, combining this biography with commentary on the urgent need for arguments better public speaking and actionable advice for the reader to facilitate better arguments in their own lives.
Punctual, friendly, and wearing hexagonal glasses, Seo embodies both the shyness that he attributes to himself in the novel and the stunningly articulate disposition that is evident in his writings. Talking to him, it was clear that the inclusion of Seo’s personality details was born out of necessity. The book wasn’t always going to include as many memories as the final draft, but the result was too inaccessible, Seo said. It would have been more like a how-to manual, which failed to humanize the debate with any relatable anecdotes or provide an understanding of Seo’s own authority on the subject.
“The knowledge that the reader is entering [the subject of the debate] cold, I found that really discouraging. And I thought, who else doesn’t know much about debate? And that was me,” Seo said. “I didn’t know anything about debate when I started. I thought maybe taking people along that journey would be a way for them to learn… I’m very happy to be a vessel. These are worthy themes and these are worthy questions, and I have no problem with people understanding my life through that lens.”
A two-time world champion debater, journalist, Harvard Law student, Schwarzman Scholar, and now author, Seo is undeniably impressive. But his experience in various disciplines also gave itself to the development of the particular and eloquent style of writing present in his book. Short and deliberate sentences fill the majority of the novel’s pages. As one might expect from a champion debater, Seo’s own arguments are carefully constructed and read like an impenetrable scrap of wisdom. It doesn’t take him long to make a relevant and solid point.
“I learned [my writing style] as a debate, [because] you have to fit as much as you can into seven minutes,” he said. “I learned as a journalist, because you usually have 550 words for a piece of news… I also learned as a debate coach. The debating community has been ‘doing it’ for many years, accumulating whatever wisdom it contains into pearls that can be passed on.”
Transmitting those pearls to the general public takes time. Seo was first approached by a publisher after winning his second world debating championship as a college sophomore, but admitted that the resulting work would be “more like a sports memoir.” Reflection and aging have served his story well, with Seo studying in China and working for the Australian Financial Review before going full-time on the novel during the pandemic.
Seo’s personal knowledge also played a crucial role in developing the distinct writing of “Good Arguments.” “The book is like, I, I, I because it’s first person, but I promise I won’t talk about myself that much,” he said. “I’m quite a shy person in many ways and it takes me a while to come to the conclusion that I have something worth interrupting other people and stopping people saying, ‘listen to this’.”
“I don’t take that time for granted, I don’t take that attention for granted, and when I choose to speak I want it to be as impactful as possible,” he added.
For Seo, it was crucial that the book be read with ease. Drawing on his journalistic instincts, he often manages to convey a lot of meaning in relatively few pages. The paragraphs can be absorbed quietly, logically flowing from one to another.
“Whatever work I don’t do as an author — clarifying, condensing, polishing — that’s work the reader has to do,” Seo said. “There are a lot of ideas out there, aren’t there? And I thought, in order for it to have the best chance of sticking, I’d like to do that job.”
Such mastery of the language has the added advantage of painting a fairly convincing picture of Seo’s undergraduate years at Harvard, which feature heavily in the book even in the context of his many other endeavors, similarly impressive He recounts judging the debate at Cambridge Rindge and the Latin School, conducting senior thesis research, and writing about the Clinton-Trump debates during the 2016 US presidential election for publications such as Quartz . He expressed a preference for a realistic account of his time on campus over rose-tinted romanticism: “I wanted to talk about what was, and what was was pretty good.”
One would expect that Seo, an Australian who lived in remote Pforzheimer House while an undergraduate, would be used to traveling long distances. When asked how he felt about putting his resident tutor along the Charles River, all he could say was, “Man, it’s a lot better.” Even the best Harvard students can’t argue with the convenience afforded by proximity.
And now, back in this pretty place in much better accommodations, Seo has the exciting opportunity to see his book come to life, as well as promote it. Surely, the prospect of this is at least partly responsible for the persistent smile he kept during his hour-long chat with The Crimson.
What is ESL in WUDC?
Contents
- 1 What is ESL in WUDC?
- 2 What did Karl Popper discover?
- 3 How do you do the World School debate?
- 4 What is the debate?
To be specific, the teams are separated into three categories based on their English proficiency, namely English as a Primary Language (EPL or Open), English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Primary Language (ESL). ). -Competitions of Foreign Language (EFL) teams.
How many rounds are there in the WUDC? The competition involves nine preliminary rounds, which become “power-paired” as the tournament progresses, pitting the strongest performing teams against each other. Two teams form the “government” (“proposition” in the UK and North America) and two the “opposition” in each debating chamber.
How do you qualify for WUDC?
The full rules of eligibility are governed by the WUDC Constitution, as interpreted by the World Universities Debating Council and the tournament’s Judging Body. But in general, each full-time student at a degree-granting higher education institution is eligible to compete in the tournament up to four times.
How do I register for WUDC?
Email wudc2019@uct.ac.za for questions about late registration. The Cape Town WUDC 2019 will have a maximum limit of 400 teams. The registration fee for each debater and adjudicator is set at ZAR 7850 per person and for each observer is set at ZAR 15700 per person.
What is WUDC masters?
The World University Debating Championship (WUDC) is the largest debating tournament in the world and one of the largest annual international student events in the world. The WUDC takes place in the format of a British Parliamentary Debate (involving four teams of two in each debate). World Universities Debating Championship.
Is there any international debate competition?
The World University Debating Championships (WUDC) is the largest debating championship in the world, held annually in English with teams representing universities from around the world.
Is there any international debate competition?
The World University Debating Championships (WUDC) is the largest debating championship in the world, held annually in English with teams representing universities from around the world.
How can I participate in Wsdc?
How we choose our teams
- Introductory Workshops. Initially, in each city, when schools join the schedule, trainers from the Indian Schools Debating Society (ISDS) involve students and teachers in workshops to teach the WSDC format. …
- City Tournaments. …
- Training Camps and Area Selection. …
- National Selection Camp.
What is the most prestigious debate tournament?
National Speech and Debate Association The National Speech and Debate Tournament is the largest academic competition in the world as more than 6,000 middle and high school students debate current events, express their views and share their stories.
Is there any debate competition in India?
ISDS has represented India in several international debating competitions, including the World School Debating Championship (WSDC), since its inception in 2008.
What did Karl Popper discover?
Popper is known for his attempt to reject the classical positivist account of the scientific method, replacing induction with the principle of falsification. The Falsification Principle, proposed by Karl Popper, is a way to distinguish science from non-science.
What did Karl Popper say about psychology? Popper eventually developed his theory by abandoning the psychology of discovery and the psychology of thought…prioritizing the study of logic over the study of subjective thought processes. Popper was of the opinion that psychology cannot explain the growth of knowledge.
What did Karl Popper say?
The lesson of quantum mechanics and even classical physics, said Popper, is that nothing is determined, nothing is certain, nothing is completely predictable; there are only âpropensitiesâ for certain things to happen.
What did Karl Popper reject?
While Popper endorses methodological individualism, he rejects the doctrine of psychologism, according to which laws about social institutions must be reduced to psychological laws concerning the behavior of individuals.
What did Karl Popper believe?
In The Open Society and Its Enemies and The Poverty of Historicism, Popper developed a critique of historicism and a defense of the “Open Society”. Popper considered historicism as the theory that history develops inexorably and necessarily according to general laws that know towards a determined end.
What did Karl Popper argue?
According to Popper, scientific theory should make testable predictions, and the theory is rejected if these predictions are shown to be incorrect. He argued that science makes the best progress using deductive reasoning as its primary focus, known as critical rationalism.
What is science according to Karl Popper?
Science is about falsification not confirmation of hypothesis. Popper believed that a good idea can be tested at the risk of being wrong, and this leads to more knowledge than one that cannot be tested but claimed to explain everything. Essentially, we learn from our mistakes.
What did Karl Popper claim about scientific theories?
Popper’s falsification methodology claims that scientific theories are characterized by involving predictions that future observations may reveal to be false.
Does Popper think science is rational?
While for Popper science is rational by virtue of its commitment to the relentless and relentless critique of its theories and assumptions, for Kuhn it is the very relaxation of this critique that marks the beginning of normal science, which is fundamentally dogmatic.
What is the contribution of Karl Popper to science?
Popper’s main contribution to the philosophy of science rests on his rejection of the inductive method in the empirical sciences. According to this traditional view, a scientific hypothesis can be tested and verified by obtaining the repeated result of substantiating observations.
How do you do the World School debate?
Order of speaking In the World Schools format, a team made up of three to five people who prepare together, of whom three speak in any given debate (although they may rotate who is speaking between debates). After the debate has started only the three team members speaking in that debate can communicate with each other.
How do you start a debate at school? The Debate Introduction
- The Attention Grabber. Securing the audience’s attention is crucial. …
- Introduce the Topic. Now, once the audience’s attention has been properly captured, it is time to introduce the subject or motion. …
- Provide the Thesis Statement. …
- Preview the Arguments.
Is there Prep time in World Schools Debate?
While only three speak in each debate, all five team members can contribute in the preparation time with ideas and argumentation development for their peers.
How does World School debate work?
World School Debate is a dynamic format that combines âpreparedâ topics with âimpromptuâ topics, encouraging debaters to focus on specific issues rather than debate theory or procedural arguments. This highly interactive style of debate allows debaters to engage each other, even during speeches.
What is the time limit for debate competition?
The format of the debate is relatively simple; each team member of each side speaks for five minutes, alternating sides. A ten-minute discussion period follows, similar to the “open cross-examination” time of other formats, and then a five-minute break (comparable to the preparation time of other formats).
How much prep time does each debater get during the debate?
Each debater receives four to five minutes of preparation time to use between speeches as they wish.
What is the debate?
A debate is a structured discussion or competition about an issue or resolution. A formal debate involves two sides: one supporting a resolution and one opposing it. Such debate is bound by previously agreed rules. Debates can be judged in order to declare a winning side.
What is debate and example? Debate is defined as arguing about opposing sides of a subject or discussing the merits of different arguments and points of view. An example of a debate is when you have a discussion about the death penalty, which you are in favor of and your conversation partner is against.
What is debate answer?
to argue or discuss (a question, issue, or the like), as in a legislative or public assembly: They debated the question of free will. dispute or disagree about: The homeowners debated the value of a road on the island.
What is debate give example?
Debate is defined as arguing about opposing sides of a subject or discussing the merits of different arguments and points of view. An example of a debate is when you have a discussion about the death penalty, which you are in favor of and your conversation partner is against. verb 2. To discuss opposing reasons; he argued.
What debate means?
1 : a discussion or argument that takes place between two teams or sides. 2 : discussion of issues We had a debate about where to go on holiday. debate. verb discussed; debate.
What is debate in speech?
A debate is a structured argument. Two sides speak alternately for and against a particular contestation usually based on a topical issue. Unlike the arguments you might have with your family or friends however, each person is allocated a time to speak and any interjections are carefully controlled.
What is the purpose of debate?
Debate is a social way of expressing your opinion on a topic. And teach students how to accept different opinions of themselves and others on the same subject. They learn to agree to disagree, they can find a way to solve an issue, they learn how to compromise with others.
What is the purpose of school debate?
Summary. Using debates in the classroom provides students with the opportunity to explore real-world topics and issues. Debates also engage students through self-reflection and encourage them to learn from their peers.
What is the purpose of debate in speaking?
At the very least, debate helps students to see the power of using rational, reasoned arguments and compelling evidence in action. It allows them to clarify their point of view using rhetorical eloquence. It instilled in the debaters a great sense of calm and confidence.
What is the benefits of debate?
Learning Debate and Public Speaking has lifelong benefits. Develop excellent oral and written communication skills. Develop excellent critical thinking skills. Develop effective tools for research, organization and presentation.
What is debate in simple words?
Debate or debate is a method of argument. Disputes and conflicts can be resolved through debate. It is a greater form of argument than a logical argument, because in a debate, the debaters try to influence the feelings of the audience, in order to persuade them on a subject.
What is debate in English subject?
A debate is a formal discussion, for example in a parliament or institution, in which people express different opinions on a particular subject and then vote on it.
What is a debate for kids?
A debate is a formal discussion between two or more people expressing their opinions on a topic. The conversation takes place with two different ideas shared by a group of people.
What is debate give and example?
Broadly speaking, a debate is a discussion involving opposing claims: an argument. The word comes from Old French, meaning “to beat.” It is also known (in classical rhetoric) as contentio. More specifically, a debate is a regulated contest in which two opposing sides defend and attack a proposition.
