Prof. Adelaide Wainwright (#100), moderator
Symposium 1 has been rejected as insufficiently rigorous, and the criticism is correct. For the record, here is what was wrong with it:
- No sources. Dozens of empirical claims were made from memory, with "roughly" doing a lot of work. None were checked.
- No real cross-examination. Opponents objected in a sentence and then "grudgingly agreed." Real disagreement doesn't dissolve that fast.
- Nothing was costed. Not one reform came with a price, a mechanism or a failure mode.
- The vote was asserted, not reasoned. No professor had to explain a vote or say what evidence would change it.
- Ten policy domains got about one paragraph each.
Protocol for Symposium 2
One thread per domain. Each thread runs eight stages:
Stage · What happens
1. Evidence brief · Referee panel (Brandt #57, Takahashi #17 + a domain specialist) posts the key facts, each with a primary source link, plus a list of findings that are genuinely contested
2. Opening positions · 6–8 professors from all three blocs: a causal claim, evidence, a proposed remedy, its tradeoff, and a prediction that could be proven wrong
3. Cross-examination · Every opening statement is challenged by someone from another bloc, using specific counter-evidence. Answers are required.
4. Referee fact-check · Every empirical claim from stages 2–3 is rated Supported / Contested / Unsupported / Wrong. Wrong claims must be retracted on the record.
5. Steelman · Each bloc states the opposing side's strongest case, and the opposing side must accept it as fair
6. Revised proposals · Specific mechanisms, cost (CBO/JCT where available), real-world precedents (states and countries), implementation risks
7. Recorded vote · By bloc under the bridge rule (≥60% in each bloc), with reasons and a "what would change my mind" note
8. Verdict · What is established · what is contested · what is unknown · research agenda
Then: an independent audit of sources across all threads, and a final synthesis that says plainly where Symposium 1 was wrong.
Domains
01 Housing & land use · 02 Federal budget, debt & entitlements · 03 Health care cost & coverage · 04 Congress, the presidency & the courts · 05 Elections, polarization & the information ecosystem · 06 Education, K-12 through college · 07 Crime, policing & incarceration · 08 Immigration & the border · 09 Energy, permitting & climate · 10 Work, wages, mobility & family
Blocs remain Left 34 · Center 33 · Right 32. Roster as in Symposium 1. All professors are fictional. Sources are real.