Reply #90: some of those are bad analogies [View All]

the argument says that 'the truth is between two EXTREME positions' so both you and the OP disprove this thesis by showing a compromise between one EXTREME position and one MODERATE position and showing that the compromise is unfair.

Clearly though, Alice was taking the middle position. One extreme position is that the cake belongs to Alice, the other is that the cake belongs to Bob. Alice's original position, that they split the cake is NOT an EXTREME position.

Similarly in your example, asking current market value for the computer, is NOT an extreme position. Asking the price of a new computer is an extreme position. The middle, between full price and $1, seems to be the correct position in both examples.

One of the secrets of Bush negotiation is to start out by asking for the moon. Then when the final compromise is reached, it is still ridiculously in your favor, if your opponent is not playing the same game. The trouble is though, if our side asked for the moon, the M$M would just ridicule them to no end. And another trouble shows up in #2, that a 3% increase ends up being a cut because it takes more than that to just maintain the system, but the M$M does not explain it that way. They allow the Republicans to lie and call their cut a 'smaller increase'.