There are all kinds of stupid people that annoy me but what annoys me most is a lazy argument.
Interpretation
The quote expresses frustration towards those who engage in unproductive or lazy reasoning in arguments.
Christopher Hitchens highlights a particular irritation he has with people who present weak or lazy arguments in discussions. In his view, such arguments not only lack depth and thoughtfulness but also undermine meaningful discourse, making it difficult to engage in productive conversations. This statement underscores the importance of critical thinking and the need to articulate one's thoughts and opinions with care and rigor.
In practice
In a debate about climate change, I used this quote to emphasize the need for well-researched arguments.
In a public dialogue with Salman in London he [Edward Said] had once described the Palestinian plight as one where his people, expelled and dispossessed by Jewish victors, were in the unique historical position of being 'the victims of the victims': there was something quasi-Christian, I thought, in the apparent humility of that statement.
What can be asserted without evidence can be dismissed without evidence.
Never ask while you are doing it if what you are doing is fun. Don't introduce even your most reliably witty acquaintance as someone who will set the table on a roar.
[E]xceptional claims demand exceptional evidence.
The worst days are when you feel foggy in the head - chemo-brain they call it. It's awful because you feel boring. As well as bored. And stupid. And resigned.
Let me tell you something: for hundreds of thousands of years, this kind of discussion would have been impossible to have, or those like us would have been having it at the risk of our lives. Religion now comes to us in this smiley-face, ingratiating way β because itβs had to give so much more ground and because we know so much more. But youβve got no right to forget the way it behaved when it was strong, and when it really did believe that it had God on its side.
The madness of depression is, generally speaking, the antithesis of violence. It is a storm indeed, but a storm of murk. Soon evident are the slowed-down responses, near paralysis, psychic energy throttled back close to zero. Ultimately, the body is affected and feels sapped, drained.
I am of a healthy long lived race, and our minds improve with age.
You know, I once read an interesting book which said that, uh, most people lost in the wilds, they, they die of shame. Yeah, see, they die of shame. 'What did I do wrong? How could I have gotten myself into this?' And so they sit there and they... die. Because they didn't do the one thing that would save their lives. Thinking.
Confidence is that feeling by which the mind embarks in great and honorable courses with a sure hope and trust in itself.
The best therapists can do with sadness, anger, and anxiety is to help patients live in the more comfortable part of their set range.
Dread remorse when you are tempted to err, Miss Eyre; remorse is the poison of life.
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