Impact Calculus 101 Casey Parsons What is impact

Impact Calculus 101 Casey Parsons

What is impact calculus? • You might remember on the first powerpoint that something called “impact calculus” was referenced a couple of times • It’s how we determine who wins the round • We weigh advantages and disadvantages against each other and determines which are more important

How do I calculate impacts? If you’re the aff, impact calculus starts in the 2 AC If you’re on the neg, impact calculus starts in the 2 NC/1 NR Do it in the overviews of the advantage/disadvantage When doing impact calculus, you assume that each team is winning their respective impacts • There are three components we’ll worry about for now: • • • Magnitude • Timeframe • Probability • When discussing each component of the impact calculus, it is proper form to reference the component you’re talking about explicitly • Impact calculus will win you more rounds than anything else – most debaters just don’t do it

Magnitude • Magnitude is the size of the impact • Most impacts are either extinction or nuclear war, so this question is often moot • The size of the impact is often measured in the number of deaths • Because the number of deaths is often times hard to quantify, we’re forced to make large generalizations • For example: If the impact to an advantage is a local conflict, and if the impact to a disadvantage is extinction, who wins the magnitude debate?

Timeframe • Timeframe is a question of when the impact occurs • This does not get talked about nearly as often as it should • If you focus on timeframe, focus on why addressing impacts that happen sooner is more important • For example: if the economy advantage has a timeframe on the impact to a regional conflict of a year, and the warming disadvantage has a timeframe on extinction of hundreds of years, who wins the timeframe debate?

Probability • Probability is a question of how likely the impact is to occur • If you focus on probability, make sure to explain why focusing on probable impacts is a good thing • For example: If a warming aff has a climate change advantage where the impact is happening in the status quo, and a spending disadvantage has the possibility of causing a local conflict that may conflagrate, who wins the probability debate?

So which is the most important? • You need to make comparative claims on impact calculus about which parts of impact calculus you’re winning and why those are the most important • If you’re winning the magnitude debate for example, focus on why the risk of extinction outweighs questions of timeframe and probability • This comparative analysis should happen in the last rebuttals • Try writing out some 2 AR/2 NR blocks to explain why certain parts of impact calculus are more important