Appelget,+Steven

=Steven Appelget=

Now with updated information and more bad jokes!

"the last hypothesis tester alive in captivity"
//(Sadly, we have received news of the passing of the last known hypothesis tester alive in captivity sometime during 2013. We bid a fond farewell to this dinosaur and hope its fossilized bones find their way to a Museum of Mesozoic Paradigms to be studied and argued over by scholars in the years to come)//

High School: Wayzata College: Macalester Current (debate) employer: Bloomington Schools (MN) Proud past honoree as a Blake Tab Room Turkey

I don't hear as well as I once did, so I like speakers to be loud and clear. I will usually also sit closer to the speaker than other judges.

Old ramblings about the K:
//Kritiks are fine, but I want to see/hear a good solid link to the affirmative's advocacy or actions. I think framework arguments are very important, but I think framework spews are a waste of everybody's time. I have already heard your camp blocks and would appreciate it if you left them in your tubs. Fewer and better points are to be preferred to more and weaker points.//

New ramblings about the K:
I don't really disagree much with my soon-to-be-fossilized past self, but I will attempt to be a bit clearer.

I think it is important for the K team--whether affirmative or negative--to clearly identify what they are critiquing. Is is a method of thought? Is is a structure? Is it a particular word? Most Konfusion seems to start from a Kritik that is vague in its criticism. If the target of the K is not clear when it is first presented, a poor debate usually results. This failure to identify the target has given K an unfair reputation of being shifty and even "cheating". Do everybody in the round a big favor and identify the target of the critique.

Framework is, in theory, a great argument. I appreciate the fact that during the Summer of 2015, some people started to go beyond debate coach evidence (blech!) and delve into discourse and political theory to create some arguments that get into the reasons why debate should or should not be done a certain way. I much prefer a small, tight framework argument to a sprawling "throw it all at the wall and see what sticks" style.

Style
I have already said I like volume.

I rarely call cards unless there is a dispute about the card--if you want me to pay attention to a card, read it in the round and extend it.

I generally don't buy the argument that 2NC cannot run new arguments.

I dislike the use of the term "abuse" as a substitute for an argument.