The New Drama of Ideas

10 February 2010
Erica Abeel

When was the last time you got someone to change their mind about a challenging issue? You know the usual drill. At a dinner party the topic of, say, Israel is broached, and the evening turns toxic. Opposing sides trot out long-held prejudices, opinions posing as fact, or the worst statistics. No one even listens to, much less gets convinced by, anyone else.