hei its4inthemorning - thanks for making contact.
you have truly thought about what i wrote, and that is more important than whether or not we are in agreement. as long as people are willing to communicate and exchange dialogue, then common ground does not need to be the essential component in a harmonious relationship.
having said that, i should admit that i understand quite well when a person feels unable to "engage in intelligent debate" - as you put it. when someone's opinion "serves no good purpose", that does indeed present an opportunity to 'give up', to exit the discussion with head held high. however, by doing so one risks initiating an avoidable 'silent war'. this creates the paradox of achieving superiority through failure.
personally, probably due to a background in psychology, i try to be tolerant of people's behaviour. were we all equally mentally balanced it would be easier to halt a discussion due to an inability to agree, but that is not the case. a person may be suffering from a neurosis or anxiety disorder, for example, and that will affect the way they conduct themselves during social interaction.
once again, thank you for commenting
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ps: it is currently free to travel by bus in ålesund, which is why we look like sardines (photo taken today)
we can only imagine what people are thinking
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