I have been thinking about the events of the past few days and weeks on this site, and I honestly have to ask the question: Are we accomplishing anything by coming here? I really wonder.

I'm not even sure why I come here or any other blog anymore. Blogging takes up a huge amount of time if you actually bother to try and back your points up with references and such. I am really starting to question the value in spending my time doing it at all.

I guess I originally started blogging because I was mad. I'd read some of the absolute pure BS over at DailyKos and I felt the need to counter it. To get in there and fight for my side of the argument because I wasn't seeing it represented. I naively figured that presenting the arguments logically might actually change some minds, but it doesn't. Both sides are locked in this confrontational mindset of talking points and personal insult. You can't have an actual honest to goodness exchange of ideas, its all about making your side look good and the other look bad. We conflate and contort the perspectives to fit our various positions and refuse to acknowledge anything on the opposing side as being valid.

I tried to actually have an honest exchange with Tlaloc on the global warming and tidal power issues based on scientific principles. How could you argue about those? I mean they are mathematically based and have well-defined meanings. Surely you could have a discussion based on those and at least reach some definitive, "Yea, I guess you were right." But you can't. No matter how many sources I dug up, or rational arguments I presented, it didn't matter. What mattered was not acknowledging that based on the underlying science I had a point. So it became about finding small picky items that one could find fault with and then ignoring the bigger argument that had been made.

Now don't get me wrong, I did my share of that and I know it. But I would at least acknowledge valid points when they were raised, for example the fact that splitting helium would require as much energy as you had gotten out of the fusion in the first place. Yes, this is true. I clearly acknowledged it. The best I could get out of Tlaloc was that the word "Gravitic" was made up. I am sure that he spent time trying to find it SOMEPLACE just to prove me wrong. But every response, every come back was simply focused on calling me a moron. Well, two can play that game and I simply responded in kind. Who started it is irrelevant. In the end I tried to smooth things over a bit and extended the olive branch to Tlaloc at the end. The response? Take the branch and stick it in my eye. Well, OK then. I see how you want to be.

Then I had an exchange with Specter and Missliberty about the meaning of irrelevant as it applied to Rush. At first I was just being obnoxious to defend Rush. But as part of that exchange I got to thinking about how we choose to spend our time and whether we are spending it on productive activities. I mean, why would we choose to spend out time on things that are irrelevant?

Then as you all know yesterday Tlaloc and I were exchanging our usual barrage of personal insults and it once again became obvious that it didn't matter if I was right or wrong, the response was predictable. Personal attack. I wasn't changing any one's minds I was just wasting time and getting angry in the process. Life's too short.

So after last night I was thinking about how I wanted to respond to the whole thing. I am obviously capable of continuing the endless stream of personal attacks, those are easy, especially when Tlaloc is at the receiving end! :-) But after thinking about it I see no real purpose in indulging his puerile need to do so. When you argue with a fool, you end up looking like a fool, isn't that the saying? Well I don't particularly want to continue to look like a fool because of who I am arguing with, especially if in the end that is the only thing that is accomplished.

But now I have a problem. I can simply ignore him and let him keep tossing out his bombs unanswered, but of course that makes me look weak. I don't intend to stay here and look weak. I could continue endlessly as we have been, but I have decided that doesn't serve any particular useful purpose and it is disrespectful of everyone else to act that way. Besides, I come back to the conversation with Specter about spending your time on irrelevant things, and obviously I don't think that spending any amount of time thinking up insults for Tlaloc is a valuable use of my time. I choose not to bother anymore.

Now it is true that the rest of this group is somewhat less stubborn than either Tlaloc or myself and we have had some good exchanges, overall, but do I think I have changed any one's mind? Have I made any significant impact? No. This is obvious.

So, I ask the group here, what is the point? Do we actually accomplish anything useful by coming here?