Section 2 Debrief

Task A = Controversial topic

Task B = Philosophical topic
Year
Task A (Argumentative)
2007
Human Nature
whether your optimistic or pessimistic about human
nature it changes your view of the world
"human nature is not inborn. Human nature is the product
of our environtment"

2008

2009

Past, present and future

"He who dwells on the past has his back to the future"
Forget history, ignore the future, live in today.
"I never think of the future, it comes soon enough."
Albert Einstein
Intelligence
"Intellect annuls fate. So far as a man thinks, he is
free." Ralph Waldo Emerson
"It is not clear that intelligence has any long-term survival
value." Stephen Hawking
"If you don't receive enough education, you have to use
your brain"

2010

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold

two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still
retain the ability to function. F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Censorship
Only the suppressed word is dangerous.
-- Ludwig Brne
Censorship reflects a lack of societys confidence in itself.
Potter Stewart
The internet treats censorship as a malfunction and routes
around it.
-- John Perry Barlow

Task B (Reflective)
Humour
"when we laugh at someone we are not angry with them. humour teaches us
tolerance"
"Humour can help us overcome many troubles and difficulties"
Humour is cruel and malicious and the subject is victimised
"there are very few exceptional judges of humour, and they never agree"
"Laughter is the best medicine"
Knowledge and wisdom
"Knowledge can be communicated, but wisdom cannot"
"the road of excess leads to the palace of wisdom"

Youth and the future

"As one grows older, one becomes wiser and more foolish." Francois de La
Rochefoucauld
Age is a matter of feeling, not of years. George William Curtis
"The tragedy of modern society is that it chooses not to respect the age,
instead worship youth." Thanks nookie, again not sure who, but that
sounds a pretty accurate recall of what it said.
"We need to value our younger generations as they are our future"

Self-confidence
-without self esteem girls have sex, get pregnant and have babies; boys find
drugs and guns
-self confidence is necessary for health and happiness
-too much confidence can be dangerous - people feel like they are invincible

2011

Modern communication is a threat to the sanity and saftey

of the community
Affirmative Action

2012
2013

Meritocracy fair or unfair - inequality in society

Democracy

Happiness and fulfilment in life

"The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all
your money" - Author Unknown
If you want to feel rich, just count the things you have that money cant
buy - Proverb
One by Jason Zebehazy
Marriage good or bad
Work Fun