have you ever changed your opinion?
- Thread starter lechat
- Start date
Recommended Videos
Yes because I like to think Im an intelligent, reasonable human being. Where did you read that we are hard wired to defend our opinions even when overwhelmingly wrong? Thats a load of nonsense, unless you were at the time reading the definition for "stubborn" in the dictionary or something!lechat said:
Yep.
I used to be uber-religious and uber-patriotic. Now? Not so much of either. I haven't swung the other way, like a lot of people do, though. I see the merits of both Christianity and America, but I also see a lot of their flaws and ways in which they can do better.
They're not horrible, but they can be a whole hell of a lot better than they are.
Edit: Next time I should read the OP.
So, have I ever changed my mind in the middle of an debate? Yes, but infrequently. I think pretty much every time I have it was because the other person brought up a point or argument that I had never considered before, which forced me to reevaluated my position.
I used to be uber-religious and uber-patriotic. Now? Not so much of either. I haven't swung the other way, like a lot of people do, though. I see the merits of both Christianity and America, but I also see a lot of their flaws and ways in which they can do better.
They're not horrible, but they can be a whole hell of a lot better than they are.
Edit: Next time I should read the OP.
So, have I ever changed my mind in the middle of an debate? Yes, but infrequently. I think pretty much every time I have it was because the other person brought up a point or argument that I had never considered before, which forced me to reevaluated my position.
Sure, if I'm given enough credible data to warrant a change of opinions.
For example, I always perceived the Mass Effect trilogy to be rather overrated.
I was dead wrong. It's AWESOME.
On the flip side, I'm often right about most things related to gaming.
For instance, I foresaw, based on the evidence shown up to its release, that Assassin's Creed 3 was going to disappoint.
Lo and behold, I was proven right.
For example, I always perceived the Mass Effect trilogy to be rather overrated.
I was dead wrong. It's AWESOME.
On the flip side, I'm often right about most things related to gaming.
For instance, I foresaw, based on the evidence shown up to its release, that Assassin's Creed 3 was going to disappoint.
Lo and behold, I was proven right.
According to some studies I read a while ago, a person changes the majority of his opinions and his worldview every 7-8 years on average.
Don't know how accurate it is but looking back at myself from 8 years ago, I can say that there's definitely some truth in that.
Don't know how accurate it is but looking back at myself from 8 years ago, I can say that there's definitely some truth in that.
I don't remember ever suddenly realising I was wrong during a debate.
However, gradually coming to realise I was wrong, lots of times.
However, gradually coming to realise I was wrong, lots of times.
I usually don't debate things if I don't have a strong opinion on the subject. I have no problem being wrong though, if you can prove it. A lot of my arguments come from gut-feelings that are supported by circumstantial observations, but that doesn't mean I won't listen. Countering with the opposite feelings as an argument won't be enough to sway me though. I know everyone has their exceptions to the rules I may have observed, and I'm not going to change my opinion because one person knew a guy who knew a guy that made my assertion wrong.
Often. I once argued that cyclists were a danger to pedestrians on the footpaths. I quickly realised how much less of a danger they are than cars are to them. More often it's a slow and painful process though.
Yes, but not on forums like these unless my point is just outright wrong. Then there will be moments where I stand by my opinion but then others just want to knock it down and replace my thoughts with their own, it comes off as really arrogant and I tend to take a break from the site for a couple of days, as anger doesn't necessarily do me any good with my numerous heart and mental conditions. I actually rectified this by turning off the Quote Post Notification in the settings and since then it has made my time here alot happier, since I am not sweating over every dude who decides they don't like what I have to say. Oh sure they could reply to me if they wanted, but chances are I am not even going to read it. You would be more likely to change my opinion of something if I actually knew you, cause then I could more easily determine whether you are a person I should be actually listening and learning from.
Yes I have, but it's genuinely hard and rarely happens without conscious effort. Particularly in forums I've seen topics being debated for 8+ years now and normally you see each person become more entrenched in their own opinions than changing to reflect others.
A big part of why I've sometimes changed my opinions is, despite being confrontational, I also have a fear of confrontations and it's incredible just how much backing down in an argument engenders good will on the other side. Someone did it to me first, we were having a flaming argument on politics and I was call him a blood sucking tory vampire etc and suddenly he complimented me on the insults and said he'd enjoyed them and thought they were pretty clever and wham, suddenly we were both doing our best to find every possible part of our opinion that we could compromise on.
And the technique has been effective ever since. It's only not worked once or twice (and normally you have to get reasonably het up before you cue it in) and it's oddly frustrating when it doesn't. Wait a minute, I changed my opinion, you should love me and be looking for compromises, whats going wrong?
If you're looking for a way to/believe you can make fully rational decisions based on the genuine merit of the situation though, it's impossible/you're probably wrong with a very high degree of certainty. Our brains aren't wired for rational arguments and thinking that you're arguing perfectly rationally is exactly the sort of thing it tricks you into thinking. Its very hard to see it in yourself, but its very easy to see it in other people. Everyone can see that the Creationist absolutely certain the Big Bang didn't occur because 'thats like put a load of C4 in a junkyard and expecting to get an Apache Attack Helicopter' we can all see that he thinks hes being rational, but really isn't. When you're absolutely certain that there's no form of God, it's harder to spot that as an emotional belief.
I'm pretty sure the studies show that even when you're aware that you can't make fully rational decisions it doesn't actually help. You can try to draw up objective experiments, but unless the subject matter is clearly defined and objective itself, you#re going to find that you're drawing up and interpreting the results to suit your premise in subtle ways.
Maybe knowing that its natural to be entrenched in an opinion and natural to believe your opinion is rational helps when dealing with other people at least
A big part of why I've sometimes changed my opinions is, despite being confrontational, I also have a fear of confrontations and it's incredible just how much backing down in an argument engenders good will on the other side. Someone did it to me first, we were having a flaming argument on politics and I was call him a blood sucking tory vampire etc and suddenly he complimented me on the insults and said he'd enjoyed them and thought they were pretty clever and wham, suddenly we were both doing our best to find every possible part of our opinion that we could compromise on.
And the technique has been effective ever since. It's only not worked once or twice (and normally you have to get reasonably het up before you cue it in) and it's oddly frustrating when it doesn't. Wait a minute, I changed my opinion, you should love me and be looking for compromises, whats going wrong?
If you're looking for a way to/believe you can make fully rational decisions based on the genuine merit of the situation though, it's impossible/you're probably wrong with a very high degree of certainty. Our brains aren't wired for rational arguments and thinking that you're arguing perfectly rationally is exactly the sort of thing it tricks you into thinking. Its very hard to see it in yourself, but its very easy to see it in other people. Everyone can see that the Creationist absolutely certain the Big Bang didn't occur because 'thats like put a load of C4 in a junkyard and expecting to get an Apache Attack Helicopter' we can all see that he thinks hes being rational, but really isn't. When you're absolutely certain that there's no form of God, it's harder to spot that as an emotional belief.
I'm pretty sure the studies show that even when you're aware that you can't make fully rational decisions it doesn't actually help. You can try to draw up objective experiments, but unless the subject matter is clearly defined and objective itself, you#re going to find that you're drawing up and interpreting the results to suit your premise in subtle ways.
Maybe knowing that its natural to be entrenched in an opinion and natural to believe your opinion is rational helps when dealing with other people at least
I do when I realize I'm wrong all the time. That doesn't mean I don't annoy people when I know their wrong and won't change my opinion to their wrong one making every one think I'm stubborn as a rock. For some reason they still think I'm stubborn every time they find out I was in fact right and never acknowledge I'm flexible when I admit to a mistake easily.
Usually people by me DVDs for christmas and I'm like 'seriously? I only wanted money' (inside of course) and then watched them and been blown away. This has happened for such great things such as Wayne's World, Black Books and Tropic Thunder.
Also I thought Skyrim and Minecraft both looked dreadful until I was convinced into purchasing them and now I think they're both utterly amazing.
Also I thought Skyrim and Minecraft both looked dreadful until I was convinced into purchasing them and now I think they're both utterly amazing.
I changed my views on gun control (slightly)... I used to be for full gun control... but over the last 6 months or so I changed my feelings on it. I think there needs to be VERY stringent background checks and stronger/harsher punishments for gun violence, but i think people have the right to have a gun.
Yes. It seems difficult, but saying "I was wrong" is one of the most remarkably easy things you can do. People see you with a new kind of respect and are more willing to listen to your opinions.