Does anything good ever result from an argument?

Changing minds is a difficult task.  As soon as sides are declared, the objective is redefined as a battle between X versus Y.

I usually like to argue for the pure entertainment factor of pushing people deeper and deeper into defending ridiculous edge cases of a topic just to see how creative they (or I) can be.

For serious issues though, I’ve learned that building your reputation and having conversations is the more effective means of convincing people of anything.  Who do you ask for technical advice, the person who out argues you the most or the person whose technical opinion you respect for providing useful suggestions over time?

Arguing is a game of offense and defense.  It’s a great tool for developing your own opinions and evaluating other perspectives. But, in the real world, it skews the truth beyond usefulness.

I’ll try to keep my arguments to an amusing minimum.