h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Well, I'm half way through my training as a volunteer for Victim Support. Very interesting it is too. The facts and figures are one thing, but it's the anecdotal stories told by the staff that are a real eye-opener. Some would break your heart whilst others opened my eyes to issues I hadn't even considered.

There was one part of the training I found quite funny. Split into groups, we were given an envelope with slips of paper in. Each slip of paper detailed an issue or made a provocative statement and the challenge was to achieve a consensus through persuasion & debate. Out of about a dozen pieces of paper, I think we've debated about 10/11 of them here on H2G2 extensively over the years and the experience was invaluable. Part of the fun in holding a contrary opinion on the threads here is seeing not just one, but various different arguments used to prove me wrong. It's fantastic for developing a wider understanding of the issues and also for refining and defining my own position. I'm sometimes wrong, but I'm more often right - just not for the reasons I thought I was. So when these pieces of paper were pulled out, I was able to give a clear and concise opinion that won the day most of the time. All credit to H2G2.

So the training will be over in a few weeks and I'll be let loose to do my worst. Interesting times.

h2g2 has been wonderful to me.

TRiG.