According to the American Heritage dictionary, the contender in this debate is NOT an idiot.

With formalities out of the way, let us proceed. Keep in mind that the resolution states "According to the American Heritage dictionary. " My opponent's definition cannot be found in the American Heritage, thus I will provide it right now. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- . http://dictionary.reference.com... For those not familiar with the above website, it list the American Heritage Dictionary definition after its own definition American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This foolï¿½ish (fōō'lĭsh) Pronunciation Key adj. Lacking or exhibiting a lack of good sense or judgment; silly: foolish remarks. Resulting from stupidity or misinformation; unwise: a foolish decision. Arousing laughter; absurd or ridiculous: a foolish grin. Immoderate or stubborn; unreasonable: foolish pride; foolish love. Embarrassed; abashed: I feel foolish telling you this. Insignificant; trivial: spent all their money on foolish little knickknacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next, I would like to state that the information presented in A, B, and C cannot be confirmed unless my opponent provides evidence for each, thus they are dismissible. That said, I will still address two of them, but will insist that my opponent provide conclusive evidence for the other. To quote Albert Einstein, ""Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. " My opponents main reason for believing that he is an idiot is because he believes he has made mistakes throughout his life, but as Albert Einstein suggest, mistakes are very beneficial in helping one improve. A: My opponent states that his action resulted in dismantling his friendship IN REAL LIFE. In any MMORPG, it is encouraged that one become friends with other members as other members can aid him in missions and give him a good understanding of the gameplay mechanics. Besides, I would submit that there is more potential in an online friendship than there is in an offline friendship as one isn't influenced by external factors (such as appearance) when socializing. There's also the fact that games can be beneficial as the following article suggest: . http://discovermagazine.com... . There's also the fact that video games are currently very hot on the market and a profession in such a field can potentially make one very successful in financial terms. Taking the 3 parts of the definition into account, they don't apply, as my opponent's reason for believing his action to be foolish was that his gaming could not have been beneficial (which is the point I just covered). B. Provide valid evidence that this is the case. C. Home schooling would have alienated my opponent from REAL LIFE friends (which my opponent speaks of valuing in A) and higher education would have been a burden on my opponent's parents/guardian in financial terms. With that said, my opponent would have to advocate that no matter what decision he ended up making, it would be foolish. D. My opponent states that he has spent his entire life in a very "lacking forethought", but with the valid definitions acknowledged, we must replace "lacking forethought" with "lacking good sense or judgment. " Previously, he makes it known that bad results = bad judgment, but I've pointed out the benefits in his choices, thus, by his own logic, his decisions did not "lack good sense or judgment. " E. Again, we can replace "forethought" with "good sense or judgment" An example of "good sense or judgment" would be in what my opponent is doing right now in that he has taken the time to articulate his arguments and using forms of reasoning to combat my case. Therefore, he is not foolish, but rather an intelligent individual. Further evidence that my opponent is intelligent: He has used "good sense/judgment" to win on this website. For example, notice this debate: . http://www.debate.org... Notice he used good judgment of his opponent's case to win the round by a majority of 21-2. Surely someone who almost always employs bad judgment would have unlikely been the victor (especially not by such a large margin). He has also managed to win debates on his previous account, but since he deleted it, I cannot link you to these debates. The main reason you must vote against my opponent is simply because voting for him would suggest that you simply came into this knowing who you would vote for in advance or that he managed to show good judgment in knowing how to persuade you into believing that he was an idiot. If it is due to the latter, this in itself would show that he truly does not live up to the definition of "Idiot. " Thus, if he shows good judgment in the next round by using logically reasoning out my responses and rebutting them, he is providing some evidence that he is not an idiot. Needless to say, not being able to convince you that he is an idiot doesn't suggest that he is an idiot. In fact, it just suggest that he is unable to convince you of what clearly isn't the truth. Now, I understand that my opponent may attempt to present an unintelligible response in the next round to convince you that he is foolish. If he does this, you may dismiss it, as evidence from how he presented himself in his first round would suggest that an unintelligible response was simply a clever artifice used to trick you into believing that he is an idiot. Finally, I would like to remind you that well known people such as Albert Einstein and Steven Hawkings have made mistakes (thus have shown poor judgment) in their lives. Making mistakes is something we all do. However, just because we all make mistakes, it does not automatically define us as idiots (or people who make poor judgment) especially if we have made numerous intelligent decisions in our lives. Thus, even if my opponent presents conclusive evidence for B (as he is supposed to since the burden of proof belongs to him), we could dismiss it as a mistake rather than present it as proof that he is an idiot. Based on what I've stated, no matter what my opponent says in the next round, you should vote for my case as he has shown and/or will show that he is NOT an idiot. Thank you.