If I say CHECK, and you begin moving your King into an eternal dance, offering DRAW rather than conceding, you dishonor the game.  You lost, but instead you replied “let us agree to disagree”.  Boring!  Any referee of a wrestling match would declare you PINNED, no matter how much you flop and wiggle your shoulders. (A few friends have replied that I’ve disrespected chess — neither my intent, nor my point.) The point is to quit distracting ourselves, instead focusing on real learning, as the book mentioned below argues for, compellingly.

SOCRATES thrived equally on refutation and being refuted.  He loved them both; he was deeply interested in conjecture, inquiry and science (“true knowledge”) insisting that he knew nothing, but was deeply curious. He was identified by the Delphic Oracle, the spokeswoman for the god, Apollo, as the wisest man in Athens..

Agnes Callard, a philosophy professor at University of Chicago, has written a commentary on Sok’s life which is (mostly) thrilling to read. I’ve been reading philosophy books for many decades, ever since taking two courses in my final undergraduate semester, two of the best courses, ever. (Her book slows a bit in the middle, but press ahead, as there is gold in them thar hills!). Her book is one not to miss.  (It’s very accessible, unlike so many philosophy texts written for other academic philosophers.) If you don’t already have a free Kindle App on your laptop, go to Amazon and download it, then read her free sample.

Open Socrates