"Sandra Oh, Avril Lavigne and Seth Rogan [sic] among Canadian celebrities recognized in AG Hair Cosmetics' 8th annual Best Canadian Celebrity Hair Awards", read this morning’s press release, based on votes from over 600 hairstylists across the country. The other winners were the less celebrated Scott Speedman and Trish Stratus. But when you can’t spell Seth Rogen’s name right, asking for a category for best academic hairstyles might be too much to ask for.

Really, the interest in "Well, Well" was all about the hair. The evening of dialogue on social change, held last night at Convocation Hall, was the second appearance by Malcolm Gladwell on his alma mater’s stage in about six weeks.

Last time, the topic was "Canada: Nation or Notion?", a debate marketed to Maclean’s subscribers that was exploited for print, online and radio applications of "medium-agnostic" content. Gladwell and fellow member of The New Yorker’s invisible masthead, Adam Gopnik, did their best to earn their speaking fees, if not nearly as determined as moderator Andrew Coyne to make an actual statement.

This round was a bit less cynical, since Gladwell shared billing with University of Toronto philosophy professor and all-purpose soundbite provider Mark Kingwell. "Well, Well" was a fundraiser for Massey College and the Canadian Journalism Foundation, while also drawing attention to a social marketing agency, Manifest.

The result of the widely advertised conversation was a nearly-full house that skewed younger and more engaged than the types who’d turn out to hear two Canadian-raised writers who permanently moved to Manhattan squabble about the validity of the place they fled — despite different writing styles, and book sales, Gladwell and Gopnik’s appeal is interchangable. By contrast, distinctions between Gladwell and Kingwell proved as complex as the hair on their heads.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking was now famously claimed by Gladwell to have been inspired by the increased number of speeding tickets and other psychological responses to his fortuitous growth of an afro. The closer-cropped Gladwell who penned The Tipping Point couldn’t have cultivated the same public image of a mad professor, always at the ready to tell you a circuitous story about the marketing of spaghetti sauce. (Announced since his last visit is the title of Gladwell’s third book, about high-achievers, Outliers.)

Book him for an indefinite run of debates at Convocation Hall, though, and chances are Gladwell would do steady box office worthy of Dirty Dancing or We Will Rock You. Thing is, he doesn’t appear to crave that level of live adulation.

Mark Kingwell, on the other hand, always seems ready to relish it. When he came on the mass media radar about a decade ago, though, it involved as little hair as possible from someone capable of still growing it – plus the then-essential mouth mullet for anyone trying to market a book called Dreams of Millennium: Report from a Culture on the Brink. Cyberschlock morphed into a higher-minded stance on trout fishing and classic cocktails – hence 11 published titles to date compared to Gladwell’s three – but also a coif restored to normalcy, revealing Kingwell to look like a generic background character in an Archie comic book.

But the striped blazer-jeans-and-sneaker wardrobes favoured by both in this setting — a look which, a generation ago, would’ve best been described as "freelance rock critic" – certainly define the sartorial standard for men born in 1963 capable of drawing a crowd just for opening their mouths. Kingwell was sporting new Adidas Gazelles, though, whereas Gladwell’s black court shoes were more weathered.

The moderator, Avril Benoit, is a former CBC Radio host now working as director of communications for Doctors Without Borders – a public role that doesn’t offer much provision for casual wardrobes outside of a warzone. She sparked the dialogue with a Jeffrey Sachs quote: "Great social transformations — the end of slavery, the women's and civil rights movements, the end of colonial rule, the birth of environmentalism — all began with public awareness and engagement."

Gladwell cautioned any exchange between him and Kingwell was bound to turn into "an incredibly boring love-in" – punctured only by the fact that Kingwell’s review of The Tipping Point called him "a shallow and unconvincing thinker". Yet, a retaliation of sorts took shape, and it involved antagonizing the philosophy professor with talking points straight out of Alex P. Keaton’s precocious playbook.

Seat belt use, chemical company compliance and same-sex marriage legalization were raised by Gladwell as three examples where "awareness and engagement" had nothing to do with their adoption. "We have come to fetishize the knowing part when we should pay more attention to the mechanics of doing."

And which figure does Gladwell consider the biggest hypocrite in that regard? Al Gore, who did nothing to raise environmental awareness during eight years as vice-president. Not long after he’s no longer able to affect policy, he makes a movie. "Then we put him up on a pedestal," sneers Gladwell. "And that represents everything that’s wrong with the way we view social change."

Kingwell went for a more intense response that drew on his recovering Catholic theological background, suggesting that everything you need to know about social change can apparently be seen in Conversion on the Way to Damascus, a painting by Caravaggio. And how the Corinthians quote about "Faith, Hope, Love" is not about romance, but the responsibility to be charitable: "It’s not enough to comfort the afflicted," he said. "We also must afflict the comfortable."

From there, it really could have turned into an assault on Gladwell’s generally narcissistic profession — except he’s the celebrity that the audience came to see. So, instead, the conversation that followed was generally laid back. Gladwell used the term "inchoate revulsion." Kingwell seemed just a little too impressed with his own ability to throw in a word like "fungible" without skipping a beat.

What they were disputing came down to the relationship between church and state, whether free markets trump regulation, and who should control the world.

In other words, it was a microcosm of every debate, ever. Don’t try this at home, though — because the combatants are likely to end up killing each other. Trained professionals, on the other hand, are asked to sign books and pose for pictures.

"I’m a profound optimist," closed Gladwell. "I think it’s something we can figure out."

"I’m not an optimist," countered Kingwell. "I’m a cynic — in the technical sense."

Previously on the Scroll: Gladwell vs. Gopnik

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