Here's a good article / TED Talk based on the neuroscience of arguing, what it does to the human brain, and why it's such a dumb idea.
I pass it along because a number of people here on FFL seem to be *addicted to* arguing. Given the findings discussed in this article, one can only assume that the reason they endlessly try to start and perpetuate arguments is that they're addicted to their brains functioning without logic and reason, and to the "rush" they feel from the fight-or-flight response. This article gives some advice on how not to become one of them: "In the heated election campaign of 2004, the researchers found supporters of presidential candidates George Bush and John Kerry and took MRI pictures of their brains as they watched video footage of their favorite candidate completely contradicting himself. So what happened in people's brains when they saw information that contradicted their worldview in a charged political environment? As soon as they recognized the video clips as being in conflict with their worldview, the parts of the brain that handle reason and logic went dormant. And the parts of the brain that handle hostile attacks the fight-or-flight response lit up." http://theweek.com/article/index/254240/how-to-win-every-argument <http://theweek.com/article/index/254240/how-to-win-every-argument>
