The fight response

I’m lucky that when it comes to arguments I’m pretty good. I have a competitive streak that skews the flight/fight response to all out war when it comes to a discussion or disagreement that means I go straight for what I want to say right away.

The occasions when I have regrets about things not said are so rare that I don’t even recall if there are any. It’s like asking me to talk about a time I was wrong. It just doesn’t happen. Being a big believer in attack being the best form of defence the idea of a perfect comeback suggests that you were not winning the battle.

Attack

It seems I am blessed with a brain that makes connections between topics very quickly, and in a way that is more instinct then premeditated, so when in an argument I can tie up many different threads and take as many tangents as I need to get my point across. I will throw in fallacies and logic statements that disorientate my opponent making them take positions that are indefensible. I would give examples but I wouldn’t like anyone to think this post is about them.

Throw in some good old British passive-aggressiveness (the verbal rope-a-dope), and a fast scatter-gun delivery technique, and it’s a pretty potent argument technique. This is a style honed for victory and tends to take no prisoners as often I cannot even remember what I am saying. I’ve warned Mrs V to not try to engage me when in a bad mood because I’m never trying to get my point across I’m trying to tell you why you are wrong.

I think it comes from working as a data analyst, you quickly learn to be able to connect disparate pieces of information to use as in an argument. Needed to think of a perfect comeback means that you missed something out in the first place so you have to front load the discussion to make sure there is no right of reply.