Hello, I’m Leung Man-tao. I’m delighted to recommend my friend Pang Ying’s new Vistopia program, Critical Thinking: Think Like a Debater.

I should begin honestly. When I was young, I joined a debate team and competed, but soon lost interest. Debate seemed boring: a draw assigns you a position, and then you must defend it by every possible means even if you do not agree. What was the point?

As I grew older, especially after watching gifted debaters such as Pang Ying, I realized I was wrong.

Why? As Pang Ying says in the program, sometimes we draw a position we oppose and must still defend it vigorously. You might compare this to a lawyer assigned a case who does not share the client’s view but has no choice.

That is true, but what matters most is that you can change perspective, understand sympathetically, and gain deeper knowledge of positions you originally rejected. You stop treating every unacceptable view, and everyone who holds it, as stupid or hostile. You begin to ask from their perspective whether they too have reasons.

This does not mean abandoning your own position or convictions. Instead, it helps you understand how valuable your convictions really are and how well what you believe withstands examination.You deepen your understanding of your beliefs while learning to approach the world’s many different lines of thought and perspectives more rationally, objectively, and tolerantly.

I hope that, like me, you will learn from Pang Ying the logical methods debate requires and the verbal ability to understand the other side.If each of us learns these skills, methods, and above all this attitude, I believe our public life can become more rational and empathetic.