NEW YORK MILLS — It’s time to put your thinking caps on and face the truth … or truths?
Essay submissions for the 32nd annual Great American Think-Off question sponsored by the New York Mills Regional Cultural Center were due April Fools’ Day. According to organizers of the armchair philosophical debate, people responded from all over online and by mail and email.
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“I never share the exact number of essays … but I would say this is an average year … with some from Canada, India, Indonesia, Namibia, Nigeria, Vietnam,” said Betsy Roder, executive director of the nonprofit. “It's just really kind of all over the place. It's very interesting.”
The nationally renowned philosophy competition invited participants of all backgrounds on Jan. 15 to wrestle with life’s most profound questions, including this year’s question: “Is there only one truth, or are there many truths?”
Demographics
“We do ask for demographic information, even though that is not used in the judging of the essays,” Roder said of the essay contest rules. “We do just find it interesting to understand where these writers are coming from and a little bit more about them.”
This year’s question about truth promises to spark spirited debates and thought-provoking discussions, where the live debate among the chosen finalists will take place in New York Mills on the second Saturday of June.
“In terms of ages, the ages of the people submitting essays range from 14 to 94,” Roder said. “The highest percentage, 25% of the essays, came from teenagers this year, so that's 14 to 19. And then the next largest group was people in their 60s, and that was 18%.”
An earlier news release stated: “People devote significant time to searching for 'the truth,' whether in our churches, our schools or our laboratories. If we search hard enough, will we all come to the same truth? Or does it turn out there are many possible truths, all correct?”
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Geography
“In terms of geography, this is always interesting,” Roder said of entrants. “This year, 38% of entries were from Minnesota. 48% were from other U.S. states and 14% were international, so we continue to see a pretty decent number of international essays.”
The Cultural Center has hosted a debate competition for armchair philosophers to engage in civil discourse about life’s biggest questions for more than three decades. This year’s provocative and timely question was selected by a 10-member committee.
“In terms of the position that they chose — the question is about one truth or many truths — 53% of people said one truth, and 47% said many truths,” Roder said of respondents to the question.
The earlier news release about the contest stated: “In this age of AI deepfakes, social media echo chambers and sophisticated propaganda machines, how do we even know what to believe? Is 'the truth' really out there?”
Truth vs. lies
“In talking to people … what I heard from folks, people really liked the question,” Roder said. “People were like, ‘Wow, that's a really hard one to answer, like, I'd have to really think about that.’”
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The announcement of the Think-Off question came days before the presidential inauguration of Donald Trump and amidst a Minnesota legislative session that has gotten off to a divisive start. But the political landscape of the day was not the sole driver of this year's question, Roder said.
“We try to look every year just about what's kind of going on in the United States and in the world, and we have continued to see that there's just a lot of disagreement out there about what is truth, what are facts, is there really a single source of truth that we can all agree on,” she said.
The Think-Off is an annual event that encourages everyday people to delve into the complexities of philosophical inquiry. Writers, thinkers and debaters from across the United States were invited to submit essays presenting their arguments on this year’s question.
“You never know from year to year how it's going to resonate with folks. But we really wanted to try to get at that idea of, is there a way that we can all agree on one truth, or is it just that there are many, and we have to figure out how to get along,” Roder said.
Four finalists
Four finalists will be selected by May 1 to debate in front of a live audience on June 14. Participants must take a strong stand in their essays, drawing from personal experience and observations.
"One thing in recent years we've done is livestream the debate on our YouTube channel, so we will do that again this year,” Roder said. “And, really, we've just done that as a way to be more accessible to everybody.”
The Think-Off is known for its inclusive and engaging format. The contest offers a $500 cash prize to each of the four finalists, plus travel expenses and a weekend in New York Mills, along with the chance to win the title of “America's Greatest Thinker.” There was no fee to enter.
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“A lot of people hear about it on social media, on different websites. It's really interesting to me how the word gets out, but we continue to have a really broad reach across the world,” Roder said.
Previous Think-Off questions have explored topics such as the nature of humankind, the dangers of science vs. religion and the role of technology in society. Each year, the event brings together a diverse audience to celebrate "the art of debate and the joy of intellectual curiosity."
“Now it's about taking all of those essays and divvying them out to our committees … so it's really a matter of both art and science for judging the essays … and then we make final decisions about who the top four will be,” Roder said.
For additional contest details, information on the past 31 years of civil debate and to purchase tickets to attend the debate, visit or call the Cultural Center at 218-385-3339.
FRANK LEE is a community reporter for the Wadena Pioneer Journal. He may be reached at 218-631-6470 or at flee@wadenapj.com .
The Trust Project
