Mohamed Bamba Quotes

I embark upon discussion and argument with great ease and liberty

Yes, I have a philosophy, and you have to come with good arguments to change that philosophy, but, if someone has a better argument than me, then I will change.

An open-minded person running a business might catch a problem faster than a closed-minded person. And when they identify a problem, they can fix it much faster.

I preferred the weapons of dialectic to all the other teachings of philosophy, and armed with these, I chose the conflicts of disputation rather than the trophies of war.

Convincing yourself doesn't win an argument.

If you want someone to accept new evidence, make sure to present it to them in a context that doesn’t trigger a defensive, emotional reaction.

What I learned from clerking for Judge Guido Calabresi and for Justice Steven Breyer was that there is no position, regardless of how wrong you think it is, that does not have some arguments in its favor, and you have to find them. And then, no matter how right your own position is, you must look for the weaknesses in that they are always there. You must be willing to find them and possibly change your approach or your mind on the subject.

I love being challenged and defending my positions and, when I'm wrong, learning from the exchange. It makes me smarter and better as a businessperson.

I was on the debate team.

We all are learning, modifying, or destroying ideas all the time. Rapid destruction of your ideas when the time is right is one of the most valuable qualities you can acquire. You must force yourself to consider arguments on the other side.

By the very act of arguing, you awake the patient's reason; and once it is awake, who can foresee the result?

You can change my mind, but you gotta work harder at it.

You have got to welcome and embrace complexity.

I do believe we're all adaptable, and you're probably more adaptable than you realize.

The test of truth in life is not whether we can remember what we learned in school, but whether we are prepared for change.

The educated do not share a common body of information, but a common state of mind.

The great thing about Yes is that it has always been flexible.

I think that I am willing to do anything. I like to collaborate. If my voice will be heard, than I will do some research and think about it.

Debates require a lot of hard work and preparation. If you try to wing it, it shows.

As the facts change, change your thesis. Don't be a stubborn mule, or you'll get killed.

Skepticism is not a position that you stake out ahead of time and stick to no matter what.

I think I would have been a reasonably good lawyer. I have a faculty for making sense of mountains of information.

The power of real debate is in the language and intellectual honesty of the debaters, alongside the engagement of spectators.

In debate, one randomly was assigned to one side or the other. This had at least one virtue - it made one see that there was more than one side to these complex issues.

As a leader, you have to have the ability to assimilate new information and understand that there might be a different view.