I don't mean to give advice on gaming the system—I'm sorry if I came across that way. The point I was trying to make was much closer to your first line—that the current interviewing system rewards confidence and communication skills, and that debate helped me build those. Ironically, I wish I had communicated that better :)
Also, I agree that there are drawbacks to doing debate. For one, there's a certain "debate kid" mentality that I picked up and had to unlearn.
Thank you for clarifying and confirming my other fear of undesired debate mentality. FYI, it's a good idea to edit your HN profile. When you write good comments, people may check it.
Also, I agree that there are drawbacks to doing debate. For one, there's a certain "debate kid" mentality that I picked up and had to unlearn.