Don't jump in until/unless

I was watching a young scholar over the last 2 weeks.  He decided to enter an arena that he clearly didn't have much of an idea what was being discussed.  He didn't have the breadth of knowledge he needed in order to understand the argument.  As a result, he said some things that he couldn't substantiate and that he couldn't seem to get a handle on.  The people in the discussion were nice at first to him, but then ended up ignoring him altogether since he had nothing to contribute, even continuing to respond.  At one point, he could have easily acceded to someone's comments who gave him the perfect out.  But, he was too foolish to even take that generous gesture.

The saying, "You have to pay to play" came into full effect in the conversation.  If you have paid your dues, it shows, usually in the level of argument you bring to the discussion.  If you haven't paid your dues, you usually find an unkind audience.  This guy hopefully learned the pay to play principle and will wait until he has a something substantive to offer before entering another discussion.

I've been a couple of times in this man's place, but I learned my lesson.  It gave me the caution I needed to speak when I have something to say and not to speak in places where my knowledge is limited.  Seeing this man's faux pas only makes my awareness of this kind of ambush that much keener.