Arguments, Debates, Discussions: Talking to Your Friends While Inebriated

Actually, the title leads to a misleading main topic and this post is actually all encompassing. Ok, so we have all been there - talking politics or life with our friends. Some topics are more sensitive than others; and some discussions may end up with a black eye or a hug, depending on the subject. My favorite kind is discussion, but lets clarify the other two.

Arguments:
This is a full out yelling contest. Basically, who has the loudest voice wins. Or whomever busts the others ear drums first. Or the argument turns into a physical altercation, then in this case the best right hook or uppercut wins. Nevertheless, this type of talk is not going anywhere, it is non-informative and non-constructive. Its purpose is to release one's immature and uncontrollable anger in verbal format. And what do you get out of it: nothing.

Debates:
Back and forth. You say your thing and then the other person does a rebuttal of your statement and then offers his statement. The purpose of a debate is to win the topic, question or controversial topic at hand. As you can probably infer, some topics are "un-winnable" like abortion or gay rights or religious. The winner of this type of talk is the one who has the most information in their memory. For every single statement Person A says, Person B will always have some study or fact or written work that contradicts A's statement. This talk is basically a battle of who has the most information. What do you get out of this talk: more (useless and probably esoteric) information.

Discussions:
This is my favorite. Discussion involves one or both of the above. Who wins in this type of talk? Nobody and everybody. This type of talk is constructive. Discussion is the mature exchange of ideas. Its purpose is to constructively explore a topic or subject. A person can ask the other person for clarification. There are no 'sides'. What do you get out of this talk: at best, enlightenment; at its worst, more questions.