09 Apr 11 Formulating An Argument Part 1: why is this necessary?

As technical people, we like to focus on building the best solutions possible.  The best solution isn't always clear.  Sometimes persuasion is necessary.  Often we're well versed in logical working our way through a problem, yet we fall woefully short in convincing others of what we've dome.

Why?  Technical often do not pay enough attention to making arguments.  Brilliant ideas fall by the way side and bad ones sluice through.  This is both a boon to tech industries and its workers.

I assert that all technical people (engineers, programmers, software developers, etc.) should familiarize themselves with the basic of formulating an argument.  Those who have gone  through rigorous training in philosophy or law school are familiar with these concepts, and I'd like techies to be as well.

I'm going to go over some the concepts as they were thought to me by Jesuits.  Hopefully they will be as helpful to you as they were to me.