In Favor of Outrageous Thinking
The goal of all our arguments is not to join a black-or-white debate, but to create a color, or a set of fancy footwear, not the comfortable shoes that “go with everything,” but a pair of high-heeled neon ankle-killing athletic shoes everyone laughs at until the day she buys a pair. If you start with black, and I start with white, we tend to think we should meet somewhere in the middle, and the middle too often looks gray. 
Gray satisfies no one. It can’t be what we wanted. Ending up with compromises no more compelling than our starting premises wastes our readers’ time (if we still have readers at the end). Instead we need to realize we’ve misinterpreted our starting points. We haven’t started with opposites. For one thing, we’re both talking about sneakers.
The opposite of a black sneaker
The opposite of a black sneaker isn’t a white sneaker; it’s broccoli, or impressionist art, or the atomic weight of laughter. We’re not obligated to compromise our positions to find something that contains components of both. We should instead be hoping that the tension between the two ends of the spectrum reveals something more interesting than either of the “sides.” First it reveals that we haven’t started on the two extremes. Then we discover there’s something beyond both our positions. 
Gray on Gray.
The worst mistake we can make—even worse than settling for gray—is to start with gray, which can only result in more gray. 
Gray on Gray, A Model:
The most common misconception with someone who is happy is we think that person has meaning in his life. A person who is happier may even have less meaning in her life than her less-happy counterparts. Happiness doesn’t define meaning; rather, it defines contentment. Having meaning in one’s life runs deeper than the mere sensation that happiness brings. Meaning is about contributing to the world, to something greater than oneself. Happiness is just satisfaction with one’s current standpoint on life, and one’s environment. The world defines happiness as something much greater than it actually is. Happiness is nothing more than the satisfaction of one’s current standpoint.
Color on Color.
Our goal is the colorful conclusion, achieved by beginning with bold and colorful premises, somewhere along a line of reasoning the ends of which are not in sight when we begin. 
Color on Color: A Model
Our neighbor Frank seems happy, and would probably define himself as happy, but he’s not. He takes pride in his fine house, where he lives with his presentable family, and he has job security. Let’s call him content. Our neighbor Ernest rents a cramped apartment, lives alone, and scrapes by freelancing. Let’s call him happy. Ernest is tortured by an abiding outrage against injustice. He champions every cause that comes his way if it will better the world or ease the suffering of others. Often hungry himself, he will share his lunch with anyone. We might prefer to be Frank, but Ernest is more likely to be happy.
If you can prove that, I’ll eat my shoe.
The result of our premises will not be as certain as when we try to start with supposed “opposite sides” of a known argument, but the pursuit of an outcome will be more entertaining, vivid, colorful, and compelling. Maybe even nutritious. 
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Counterintuitive Spring 2024 
Thesis is not meant to be black or white, think color;
providing something off the black or white scale
Don’t try to argue both black, white, or grey; go off the spectrum
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This was helpful because it showed the difference between two different kinds of writing.
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This will be interesting. More exhausting than planned, but interesting.
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That was a very mind opening lecture. It introduced a different type of thinking that Ive never thought about.
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This was helpful
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Put something into the argument that makes it different from the rest. Something that will make it stand out. The stronger your argument is and the more it stands out the better it will be.
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Never black and white, nor yes or no. Always a gray area. Go for color, provide something with terms completely off the scale of black and white. There is no playing field for an argument. An argument is as wide as its contributors’ imaginations.
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Life isn’t just black or white, you can fill colorless ideas with color. The opposite of a black sneaker can’t be a white sneaker because they’re both sneakers. That’s kind of a half opposite, because they’re still the same category of thing.
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Thats a lot to think about since it seemed so simple and easy at first glance but once you think about it you don’t really know the answer. You’d think the opposite of a black sneaker would be a white sneaker but like the professor said how can the opposite of a sneaker be a sneaker?
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Kinda weird, getting more and more into philosophy. I like to think that when the question is asked, its under the basis of that category. Therefore the opposite of something should contain something in that category. Opposite of a black shoe is a white shoe because they are the same category and associated with polar opposite colors. Makes life easier.
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Too many complexities in black and white
Do not think of black or white think in terms of color
Explain your thesis as if no one else can see color
Opposite of a sneaker is an honest person
Offer a fresh prospective
Go off the spectrum – go for the high heel sneaker with wings and rhinestones
Opposite of a inaccurate of eyewitness testimony
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I feel that when people say that they want the opposite of something, they are really looking for an alternative option to the item. When they want an opposite of a black sneaker, they could be looking for a different type of footwear with a different color. Of course it is true that anything can be the opposite of something, but people will look at you as if you were crazy if you handed them a piece of broccoli when they asked for the opposite of a black sneaker.
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People who only see the world in black and white miss the amazing complexity of other colors which add to their own stunning view on life and it influences how a person interpits the things around them. The opposite of a black sneaker to me would be simply a white sneaker because black is the darkest of the colors while white is the lightest simply being on two different ends of the spectrum make it the best opposites.
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Adding color and originality to an argument really can make it stand out, which is why it is so difficult to accomplish. Having a separate opinion to something is not easy, however people will not forget what was said. I liked the comparison between the different and interesting shoes with the boring and black and white, typical shoe that is seen everywhere. Having an argument that is not heard everywhere can last a while and stand out to people.
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Is very deep to see the point of view of what can be consider as opposite. Color in deed doesn’t have a bad or good side, and see colors as opposte is kind of counterintuitive. Nevertheless, when it comes to emotions, I believe that if you love something, at the same time you hate it at some degree.
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Yes, this was helpful. I definitely understood the points you were making about the “opposite” of an argument/topic. For our research papers, instead of including an easy argument that’s relatively simple to refute, it’s important to add unique, varying perspectives on a topic. It also engages your readers by having them read the “broccoli” instead of another “shoe” among the other shoes in your paper.
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It is infesting and changed my view on somethings. For example as I myself and most people would’ve said, yes the opposite of a black sneaker is a white sneaker.
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