Why Internet Communication Often Is Not Constructive

Comment #60 (emphasis added) quoted by Dennis McKay on The Hard History - is faith enough to see us through - Margaret Young (By Common Consent)

“The human brain is, in large part, a machine for winning arguments, a machine for convincing others that its owner is in the right – and thus a machine for convincing its owner of the same thing. The brain is like a good lawyer: given any set of interests to defend, it sets about convincing the world of their moral and logical worth, regardless of whether they in fact have any of either. Like a lawyer, the human brain wants victory, not truth; and, like a lawyer, it is sometimes more admirable for skill than for virtue.” – Robert Wright