One of the most intellectually paralyzing thoughts and phrases there is: “The truth is somewhere in the middle.” After saying that, the person usually nods wisely, as if he has said something so intelligent that the disagreement should end.
In fact, the phrase is usually used when someone, for instance, who’s defending abortion, or global warming, or some such fraud, is driven into a corner from which there is no factual escape. As soon as he feels himself cornered, the old, reliable, “The truth is somewhere in the middle.” is brought to bear.
A good response is, “No, it is not. The baby is a baby, cyclical changes in temperatures are driven by similarly cyclical changes in solar output, and anyone disagreeing with those facts (or whatever facts are under discussion) is simply unaware of what’s going on.”
