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 2AC If you’re on the neg, impact calculus starts in the 2NC/1NR 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 2AR/2NR blocks to explain why certain parts of impact calculus are more important