[pnmahoney]

Well what else would you expect than that it's a game? After all, you get a shiny metal trophy at the end if you keep winning, and you'll keep getting more and bigger trophies after that if you can keep it up.

The idea of truth-seeking is laughable. You are required to switch sides each time.

Or as to the feeling that nothing feels fully resolved. It seems like that should be expected when the opponents are well-matched; rather than, say, a runaway victory resolved in favor of one side? Even then, I don't think any sports spectator would want a team to actually give up partway through and concede rather than continue.

[tpudlik]

> The idea of truth-seeking is laughable. You are required to switch sides each time.

I'm with you, except for this bit. The side-switching is the primary way for truth-seeking to enter debate. If you only look for arguments for one side, you're a demagogue. Truth-seeking consists of searching for the strongest arguments for both sides. Most people struggle to argue at their best for both sides simultaneously, so debate sequences them.