The Winding Path

Once again the Edge has posed a weighty question to a large collection of our world’s great minds. It’s an especially important question for scientists to ponder as one of the tenets of science is to always think critically, even of one’s own opinions and beliefs. We must be ready and able to change our minds when we’re presented with facts and arguments which clearly counter our current understanding.

However it’s not only scientists who benefit from pondering this question. Everyone is capable of stubbornly grasping to an opinion and defying all arguments, no matter how reasonable, no matter how well prepared or flawlessly presented.

Before reading what great minds have said I decided to write my own response, so that I’m not unconsciously influenced by others (and looking at the list of names I have no doubt that the depth of thought and clarity of communication some of these intellects are capable of would strongly influence my own thoughts).

I probably could think of something positive, after all it was a huge change of mind to go from working in computer science to studying Psychology. I’ve also changed my mind about my ability to put on weight after I’ve come back from both of my last two holidays a few kilos heavier than when I left (and no, I don’t mean the souvenirs or alcohol I brought home).

But the most recent significant change is one which could have a big impact on my future. See, up until this point I’ve acknowledged that people all over the world have different opinions and different levels of knowledge and understanding of the world. But I think my friends spoilt me. I’ve been lucky enough to be surrounded by intelligent people through most of my school years, and they, as well as the people who weren’t necessarily top of the class, all held opinions I could respect, even when I disagreed with them.

However recently I added the iThink application on Facebook. It’s an application anyone on Facebook can use to express their own opinion in a few lines. You can also read other people’s opinions, comment on them, and vote to either agree or disagree. For those familiar with Internet forums it’s similar, except with less features in general, but structured around the agree/disagree voting system.

Now, over the years I’ve been to a few pubs, bars, clubs and parties where I’ve had a chat with someone who has an opinion or two I completely disagree with. Once in a while it’s got to the point where I have to walk away because their opinions are too idiotic (for example, “women are either pretty or intelligent, but not both.”).

Yet most of the time the people I meet are pretty cool, at least. So even though I knew there were some people out there who, for whatever reason, held opinions which just didn’t make any sense to me, all in all I believed that those people were in the extreme minority.

iThink has shown me that’s wrong. Even though the users of Facebook are obviously a limited selection, there’s enough variety in age, nationality, culture, religion, etc., to get a varied glimpse into the minds of people all over the world (naturally skewed towards western civilisation, mainly the US). And an astounding number of these people hold opinions which I can’t believe a rational human being could hold. There’s a frightening display of ignorance and intolerance. In many cases it’s understandable that lack of experience (or overwhelmingly bad experiences), or religious or cultural indoctrination would sway someone’s opinion in a negative way. But it’s nothing like what I’m used to.

Now I’m probably over-reacting and most people reading those opinions might not feel the same way. But while I didn’t consider myself naive, it seems I had an over-inflated opinion of the people I share this world with. That’s not to say that I now think most people have opinions which seem unreasonable, but that what I thought was a very small minority turns out to be significantly larger.

Likewise I don’t question the fact that people have different opinions; they’re entitled to. But I do question the fact that they’re able to hold such opinions. For example, “Only people with degrees from proper universities should be allowed to vote.” Or, “Meat eaters don’t care about animals.” Or, “The theory of evolution is just a theory, so that means it’s not true.” And of course there’s always the question of what right I have to judge other people’s opinions. Naturally I don’t, as long as I’m not trying to force them to change. I have every right to disagree, and they have every right to ignore me when I show them what I think are better alternatives. I refuse to force my opinions on anyone. But I also refuse to let ignorance and discrimination lead people to harm others.

So that brings me to the reason this might impact my future. I’ve never really considered myself a teacher, but I think I’ve now found a source of motivation to encourage me to become one. Well, not a teacher, but maybe lecturing at a university is something I’ll do in the future. But for the moment I may just focus a little more on improving my ability to get information out there.

What about you? What have you changed your mind about?

P.S: Sorry for my extended absence!

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 3:16 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.