Ambition is the strong desire to achieve something significant and to be better than others. There is a button which, if pushed, would remove ambition from all humans

There exists an experimental drug that can double your IQ. The effects are temporary and will last at least a year, though it's unclear at what point after that they will fade away. Animals used in the testing process did not experience negative side effects. Algernon is a woman with a well below-average IQ whose daily material needs are met. She is given the chance to be the first human to try the drug.

For the purposes of this debate, humanity has achieved communication with a metaphysical being possessing knowledge about the universe's nature. The being sends a message enclosed in an envelope, offering insight into whether historical events and human existence are predetermined or shaped in real-time by individuals. The being is deemed trustworthy, and the information in the message is considered accurate and reliable.

You're Achilles, one of the greatest warriors that Greece has ever seen. Your destiny is written. Your role in winning the Trojan War for your home, Prithia, will be monumental. However, it is certain that you will die a physical death that will render you as a great Greek Hero. But you also have a choice to stay home, and build your life with Patroclus, your male lover. If you choose to stay in Prithia and not fight the war, you will become the first Greek warrior to forge the greatest same-sex love story in Greece.

Rather than the government directly funding social security benefits, the US government established the ‘Social Security Trust Fund’ which is responsible for paying out social security benefits. By law, the trust fund is funded by a dedicated payroll tax of 12.4%. The trust fund is required to invest surpluses into US Treasury Bonds for the payment of future Social Security benefits. Payroll taxes currently do not cover the full cost of social security, and the trust funds are burning through their cash reserves. The trust funds are expected to be depleted by 2034, at which point payroll taxes will only cover 77% of the cost of social security.

a) In the U.S., Federal Reserve-driven bailouts involve the Fed (Federal reserve) providing emergency loans, credit facilities, or monetary support to stabilize financial institutions and markets during crises. These actions aim to maintain liquidity and prevent systemic collapse. b) Legislative-driven bailouts occur when Congress passes laws to allocate taxpayer funds for rescuing struggling industries or companies. These bailouts focus on broader economic recovery and often include conditions like repayment or operational reforms.

Gross National Happiness (GNH) is a philosophy that guides the government of Bhutan. It includes an index which is used to measure the collective happiness and well-being of a population. The GNH Index includes nine domains: 1) psychological well being 2) health 3) education 4) time use 5) cultural diversity and resilience 6) good governance 7) community vitality 8) ecological diversity and resilience 9) living standards.

"For the purposes of this debate, glaciers (e.g. ice sheets, icebergs, ice shelves) have suddenly developed sentience, communication and the capacity to consciously control the pace of their melting or stop it entirely. Glaciers cannot stop the process of global warming or its other adverse consequences (e.g. sea levels may rise at a different pace, but this does not affect carbon emissions or the prevalence of bushfires). Nobody else apart from the glacier species is aware that glaciers have developed intelligent thought.”

Shareholder activism involves the owners of shares (whether individual or institutional investors) lobbying companies in which they have shares to improve their corporate behaviour. Divestment campaigns involve demanding investors to sell their shares in morally problematic industries.

For the purpose of this debate, 'looking for a man in finance' trend refers to womxn actively seeking to date rich men who work in lucrative jobs or have generational wealth.  That's largely because to have a fun dating life, for example, flying out to Paris for a date. Such womxn prioritize wealth and looks in their partners, ignoring their annoying traits like mansplaining, very capitalist views, or just love for finance.

For the purpose of this debate, speculative fiction refers to any genre of art that depicts the future of science, technology, religion, culture, etc. In other words, such pieces of art speculate on something supposedly 'nonexistent' within our reality. Within this genre, there is 'apocalyptic speculative fiction', which shows our eventual doom, such as Dune or The Handmaid's Tale. And there is 'optimistic speculative fiction' which shows an 'optimistic' side of our future: we will all be alright. Example: 'The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.'

For the purposes of this debate, there are two approaches to writing fantasy and science fiction media. The "re-interpretive approach" directly reinterprets or draws strong parallels to real historical events (e.g. Outlander, The Poppy War, Belisarius). Conversely, the "transformative approach" takes inspiration from real world cultures but builds an otherwise unique world (e.g. Avatar: The Last Airbender, Dune, The Wheel of Time)

A narrative that suggests romantic relationships should be "start ups" encourages participants to view a relationship as a joint venture where the goal is building a life together from the ground up. This can include working to make new joint friends (often "couple friends"), choosing hobbies to do together, developing close relationships with each other's friends/families and considering the effect of one's choices on the success of the relationship (e.g., what jobs to take, whether or not to move cities).

Context: 1) X & Y are budding debaters from the Karachi circuit who are in a happy relationship. They share common aspirations of doing well at major tournaments (WUDC, UADC etc.) and have briefly debated as a team previously. However, this took a significant toll on their relationship since both of them are highly-competitive teammates prone to bouts of stress and anger. Based on this experience, they have teamed up extensively with a different set of teammates which has been successful. For the purposes of this debate, this is likely to be the last year majors are going to be online, post which it is uncertain whether they will be able to access these tournaments. X & Y have spent time preparing for majors with their current teammates. However, in the run up to majors, they realize their current teammates won't be able to make it to the competition. This leaves them with the choice of either debating with each other or settling for an untested partner. Both X & Y are still quite skeptical of the potential fallout teaming up may have on their relationship.

The two major forces fighting the civil war in Sudan are the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) led by the de facto leader Al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by army general Hemedti. Both leaders have significant foreign support in terms of money and arms.  Countries like Egypt, Eritrea, Ukraine and Iran support the SAF while the RSF has ties with UAE, Russia, etc. 

The civil war in Sudan has been escalated by the power struggle between Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Pro-democracy see them as war criminals for their role in counter-insurgency in Darfur in 2003 as well as recent escalations in Khartoum. However, these two army generals are seen as 'national leaders' by various marginalized groups in Sudan.

Currently, the Sudanese Army is fighting off the controversial paramilitary opposition force, the RSF, near the country's most lucrative oil refineries. The RSF is attempting to secure control over oil refineries to limit the government's access to the oil industry and its profits. Sudan's biggest source of income is its oil, with countries like China, India, and Japan being its biggest buyers.