Lin,+Edwin

Name: Edwin Lin Years in Activity: Since 1998 Years Coaching: Since 2002 School Affiliation: Leland High School, San Jose, California Experience: 4 years high school debate, no college debate -KY Fellows Summer 2001 -3 ToC bids in high school -3rd at California State Tournament -Deepest tournament: Semi-finals at Berkeley 2002 Judging Experience: I have judged at Berkeley, Stanford, USC, Greenhill, and numerous California local tournaments. Background: BA in Development Studies from UC Berkeley -Currently in PhD Sociology program at UC Berkeley

I consider myself basically tabula rosa, meaning "blank slate." This means I'll accept any argument (defined as an explained claim and WARRANT), even if it seems illogical to me personally. In other words, if you concede an "illogical" argument, and I am told to vote on it, I will do so. I am extremely line-by-line/flow critical and will try my very best not to intervene in any way. This makes weighing the debate and explaining how I should vote of utmost importance, otherwise I will have to resort to my own personal beliefs, which I would like to avoid. The less judge intervention I need to do, the better the round (and probably the better your speaker points).

This means I will accept any argument (kritiks, counter-plans, theory arguments, etc), but I do need the argument to be explained clearly so that I understand it. I won't vote on an argument that I simply do not understand (and therefore, I do not feel was clearly explained). I won't vote on an argument that I don't have on the flow (so speak clearly).

I probably have some unconscious biases... in particular, when I debated, I went for a lot of theory and kritik arguments. I, therefore, may have a lower threshold than others for voting on theory arguments and kritiks. But in some sense, because I do feel I have a deep understanding of how these arguments can and should be run, I may be more critical about the way you go for it as well. In any case, I will do my very best to avoid having any of my biases affect a given debate round.

If you have any particular questions about anything, feel completely free to ask me anything at all, before and after a round.