"We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whoseviews contradict our own."; disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning."

Essay topics:

"We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose

views contradict our own."; disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning."

Do we learn more from people whose ideas we share in common than from those whose

ideas contradict ours? The speaker daims so, for the reason that disagreement can cause

stress and inhibit learning. I concede that undue discord can impede learning. Otherwise, in

my view we learn far more from discourse and debate with those whose ideas we oppose than

from people whose ideas are in accord with our own.

Admittedly, under some circumstances disagreement with others can be counterproductive

to learning. For supporting examples one need look no further than a television set. On today's

typical television or radio talk show, disagreement usually manifests itself in meaningless

rhetorical bouts and shouting matches, during which opponents vie to have their own message

heard, but have little interest either in finding common ground with or in acknowledging the

merits of the opponent's viewpoint. Understandably, neither the combatants nor the viewers

learn anything meaningful. In fact, these battles only serve to reinforce the predispositions and

biases of all concerned. The end result is that learning is impeded.

Disagreement can also inhibit learning when two opponents disagree on fundamental

assumptions needed for meaningful discourse and debate. For example, a student of

paleontology learns little about the evolution of an animal species under current study by

debating with an individual whose religious belief system precludes the possibility of evolution

to begin with. And, economics and finance students learn little about the dynamics of a

laissez-faire system by debating with a socialist whose view is that a centrv2ized power should

control all economic activity.

Aside from the foregoing two provisos, however, I fundamentally disagree with the speaker's

claim. Assuming common ground between two rational and reasonable opponents willing to

debate on intellectual merits, both opponents stand to gain much from that debate. Indeed it is

primarily through such debate that human knowledge advances, whether at the personal,

community, or global level.

At the personal level, by listening to their parents' rationale for their seemingly oppressive

rules and policies teenagers can learn how certain behaviors naturally carry certain

undesirable consequences. At the same time, by listening to their teenagers concerns about

autonomy and about peer pressures parents can learn the valuable lesson that effective

parenting and control are two different things. At the community level, through dispassionate

dialogue an environmental activist can come to understand the legitimate economic concerns

of those whose jobs depend on the continued profitable operation of a factory. Conversely, the

latter might stand to learn much about the potential public health price to be paid by ensuring

job growth and a low unemployment rate. Finally, at the global level, two nations with opposing

political or economic interests can reach mutually beneficial agreements by striving to

understand the other's legitimate concerns for its national security, its political sovereignty, the

3

stability of its economy and currency, and so forth.

In sum, unless two opponents in a debate are each willing to play on the same field and by

the same rules, I concede that disagreement can impede learning. Otherwise, reasoned

discourse and debate between people with opposing viewpoints is the very foundation upon

which human knowledge advances. Accordingly, on balance the speaker is fundamentally

correct.

Votes
Average: 6.6 (1 vote)
Essay Categories

Comments

Grammar and spelling errors:
Line 3, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Ideas
...share in common than from those whose ideas contradict ours? The speaker daims so, ...
^^^^^
Line 5, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Stress
...he reason that disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning. I concede that un...
^^^^^^
Line 9, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: From
...with those whose ideas we oppose than from people whose ideas are in accord with o...
^^^^
Line 11, column 24, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[1]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'circumstances'' or 'circumstance's'?
Suggestion: circumstances'; circumstance's
... with our own. Admittedly, under some circumstances disagreement with others can be counter...
^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 13, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: To
... with others can be counterproductive to learning. For supporting examples one n...
^^
Line 21, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Merits
...n ground with or in acknowledging the merits of the opponents viewpoint. Understanda...
^^^^^^
Line 21, column 15, Rule ID: POSSESIVE_APOSTROPHE[2]
Message: Possible typo: apostrophe is missing. Did you mean 'opponents'' or 'opponent's'?
Suggestion: opponents'; opponent's
...or in acknowledging the merits of the opponents viewpoint. Understandably, neither the ...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 23, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Learn
...either the combatants nor the viewers learn anything meaningful. In fact, these bat...
^^^^^
Line 25, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Biases
... to reinforce the predispositions and biases of all concerned. The end result is tha...
^^^^^^
Line 29, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Assumptions
...two opponents disagree on fundamental assumptions needed for meaningful discourse and deb...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 35, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: To
...recludes the possibility of evolution to begin with. And, economics and finance ...
^^
Line 39, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Control
...ew is that a centrv2ized power should control all economic activity. Aside from the...
^^^^^^^
Line 43, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Claim
...damentally disagree with the speakers claim. Assuming common ground between two rat...
^^^^^
Line 45, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Debate
...l and reasonable opponents willing to debate on intellectual merits, both opponents ...
^^^^^^
Line 45, column 84, Rule ID: SENT_START_CONJUNCTIVE_LINKING_ADVERB_COMMA[1]
Message: Did you forget a comma after a conjunctive/linking adverb?
Suggestion: Indeed,
...ts stand to gain much from that debate. Indeed it is primarily through such debate t...
^^^^^^
Line 55, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Undesirable
...ain behaviors naturally carry certain undesirable consequences. At the same time, by list...
^^^^^^^^^^^
Line 59, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Parenting
...rn the valuable lesson that effective parenting and control are two different things. A...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 63, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Of
...tand the legitimate economic concerns of those whose jobs depend on the continue...
^^
Line 67, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Job
...c health price to be paid by ensuring job growth and a low unemployment rate. Fin...
^^^
Line 75, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Stability
...y, its political sovereignty, the 3 stability of its economy and currency, and so for...
^^^^^^^^^
Line 79, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: The
...ling to play on the same field and by the same rules, I concede that disagreement...
^^^
Line 83, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Which
...iewpoints is the very foundation upon which human knowledge advances. Accordingly, ...
^^^^^
Line 83, column 1, Rule ID: SENTENCE_FRAGMENT[1]
Message: “which” at the beginning of a sentence requires a 2nd clause. Maybe a comma, question or exclamation mark is missing, or the sentence is incomplete and should be joined with the following sentence.
...iewpoints is the very foundation upon which human knowledge advances. Accordingly, ...
^^^^^
Line 85, column 1, Rule ID: UPPERCASE_SENTENCE_START
Message: This sentence does not start with an uppercase letter
Suggestion: Correct
... balance the speaker is fundamentally correct.
^^^^^^^

Transition Words or Phrases used:
accordingly, also, but, conversely, finally, however, if, look, so, for example, in fact, to begin with

Attributes: Values AverageValues Percentages(Values/AverageValues)% => Comments

Performance on Part of Speech:
To be verbs : 11.0 19.5258426966 56% => More to be verbs wanted.
Auxiliary verbs: 12.0 12.4196629213 97% => OK
Conjunction : 21.0 14.8657303371 141% => OK
Relative clauses : 18.0 11.3162921348 159% => OK
Pronoun: 31.0 33.0505617978 94% => OK
Preposition: 78.0 58.6224719101 133% => OK
Nominalization: 12.0 12.9106741573 93% => OK

Performance on vocabulary words:
No of characters: 3100.0 2235.4752809 139% => OK
No of words: 533.0 442.535393258 120% => OK
Chars per words: 5.81613508443 5.05705443957 115% => OK
Fourth root words length: 4.80487177365 4.55969084622 105% => OK
Word Length SD: 2.9858519305 2.79657885939 107% => OK
Unique words: 287.0 215.323595506 133% => OK
Unique words percentage: 0.538461538462 0.4932671777 109% => OK
syllable_count: 935.1 704.065955056 133% => OK
avg_syllables_per_word: 1.8 1.59117977528 113% => OK

A sentence (or a clause, phrase) starts by:
Pronoun: 6.0 6.24550561798 96% => OK
Article: 6.0 4.99550561798 120% => OK
Subordination: 1.0 3.10617977528 32% => OK
Conjunction: 3.0 1.77640449438 169% => OK
Preposition: 19.0 4.38483146067 433% => Less preposition wanted as sentence beginnings.

Performance on sentences:
How many sentences: 24.0 20.2370786517 119% => OK
Sentence length: 22.0 23.0359550562 96% => OK
Sentence length SD: 73.8037821788 60.3974514979 122% => OK
Chars per sentence: 129.166666667 118.986275619 109% => OK
Words per sentence: 22.2083333333 23.4991977007 95% => OK
Discourse Markers: 4.29166666667 5.21951772744 82% => OK
Paragraphs: 41.0 4.97078651685 825% => Less paragraphs wanted.
Language errors: 24.0 7.80617977528 307% => Less language errors wanted.
Sentences with positive sentiment : 8.0 10.2758426966 78% => OK
Sentences with negative sentiment : 10.0 5.13820224719 195% => OK
Sentences with neutral sentiment: 6.0 4.83258426966 124% => OK
What are sentences with positive/Negative/neutral sentiment?

Coherence and Cohesion:
Essay topic to essay body coherence: 0.278197059139 0.243740707755 114% => OK
Sentence topic coherence: 0.0772867976219 0.0831039109588 93% => OK
Sentence topic coherence SD: 0.0868080856639 0.0758088955206 115% => OK
Paragraph topic coherence: 0.0580050248674 0.150359130593 39% => Maybe some paragraphs are off the topic.
Paragraph topic coherence SD: 0.0784217400446 0.0667264976115 118% => OK

Essay readability:
automated_readability_index: 17.1 14.1392134831 121% => OK
flesch_reading_ease: 32.22 48.8420337079 66% => OK
smog_index: 11.2 7.92365168539 141% => OK
flesch_kincaid_grade: 14.2 12.1743820225 117% => OK
coleman_liau_index: 16.48 12.1639044944 135% => OK
dale_chall_readability_score: 9.32 8.38706741573 111% => OK
difficult_words: 155.0 100.480337079 154% => OK
linsear_write_formula: 7.0 11.8971910112 59% => Linsear_write_formula is low.
gunning_fog: 10.8 11.2143820225 96% => OK
text_standard: 11.0 11.7820224719 93% => OK
What are above readability scores?

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Maximum six paragraphs wanted.

Rates: 66.67 out of 100
Scores by essay e-grader: 4.0 Out of 6
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Note: the e-grader does NOT examine the meaning of words and ideas. VIP users will receive further evaluations by advanced module of e-grader and human graders.