Harish Natarajan is a world-renowned debater, the man who outwitted a dedicated AI program in a debate and is currently the Head of Economic Risk at AKE international. So where did this passion for debate start? As with most hobbies taken up in youth, at the behest of his parents.
Nearly 14 years ago, a young Harish Natarajan stepped into the debating club at his school, as his parents “wanted him to” and it “fit into his schedule” The fickle winds of fate blew him into that room, and he has not looked back since.
His first debate was an “exhilarating” experience, one that he deems unforgettable, and a “good decision" which turned into a l lifelong passion. But the most crucial part of his first debate was that, in his own words, he was “bad” He doesn’t remember much of the debate but he remembers that it was “fun "And there lies the crux of the matter. The most crucial part for any hobby: Talent is not a prerequisite, but passion is. The “initial euphoria of all the good things about debating got [him] in” As with most callings in life, debating seduced Harish into falling categorically in love with it.
Over the years, an accomplished debater such as Harish has had many debates, and it is this vast repository of experience that has spurred him onto greater things and led him to a deeper understanding of the nuanced skill of debating. He said; “very few things are unequivocally good or bad.” In his opinion, the art of debating isn't one of radical warfare, but one where both teams have a point, but yours is “just a little bit more right” and one must simply persuade an audience to agree with you. In his words, “debating is like a dance, where you're leading someone [to a conclusion] in an elegant manner.” Debating is not a black or white issue, rather one with a large grey area one must operate in.
Harish Natarajan has coached the Hong Kong “national” debate team, has debated for 14 years, and has attended Oxford and Cambridge universities. He has beaten a specialized debating Artificial Intelligence entity. So what's next? Harish aims to focus on the world of social media, and how it is an increasingly prevalent means of conducting debates. At its core, social media is “a very poor style of conducting arguments” and people often end up being more “radical” aiming to hurt rather than convince. He aims to combat these “pseudo-debates.” Recently he has collaborated with one of the co-founders of Macron’s “En Marche party” and the New York Times aiming to combat the problem of people “not seeing both sides of an argument” His project aims to allow better debating to happen more easily. Harish is an accomplished man and is only going to rise from here. And it is funny to think it all started from his parents pushing him in through those two doors that would change his life.
