The "I Didn't Comment in Another Thread" Thread

[overgeeked]

It certainly has, but I also question in some cases if any evidence is going to shift the conversation. I dont believe it will, so its a 'nah' as the effort outweighs any potential gain. Not that I take offense to the question or its productivity, but it simply is what it is.

Especially here, with the uhhh preponderance of pedantry and goal post shifting, and strawman arguments. Its just not worth it. I could link 5 threads in a single subforum that all follow this same path in seconds from here. Its just not worth the wear and tear on my heart.

Exactly. Evidence doesn’t shift opinion. We have studies about this. People just decide whatever random opinion they have is right and nothing will ever move them. Once a discussion moves into the argument phase, it’s already spiraled too far down the drain to be saved.

 

[Wofano Wotanto]

It's funny I've asked other people to step up and show me what they mean with no intention of debating and they have from a single paragraph to multiply paragraphs, but I guess the internet has condition us to automatically think "oh god they just want to argue with me" "Umm no sir, I want to know what your view really is."

I find it helps a lot if you phrase it as "I'm not sure I understand you, but that might just be me. Can you explain again?" Taking the onus of possible thick-headedness on yourself defuses things a fair bit of the time.

And heck, sometimes I am actually thick-headed. It happens to everyone. Rather fix my ignorance than carry it around like Marley's ghost and his money boxes.

 

[Scribe]

Exactly. Evidence doesn’t shift opinion. We have studies about this. People just decide whatever random opinion they have is right and nothing will ever move them. Once a discussion moves into the argument phase, it’s already spiraled too far down the drain to be saved.

In a general sense I agree. Most people are not interested in moving their opinion, they are interested in validation and proving they are correct.

People can shift. I know this from personal experience on both minor pointless things from here (Spell-less Rangers!) and far more pressing real life matters.

Online though? Its just not worth it to try and convince others, I'll take it upon myself to consider things or not, but I no longer care to convince anyone of pretty much anything.

 

[trappedslider]

I find it helps a lot if you phrase it as "I'm not sure I understand you, but that might just be me. Can you explain again?" Taking the onus of possibly thick-headedness on yourself defuses things a fair bit of the time.

You're right, I'm sure if i had phrased my initial remark that way, I would have gotten an actual answer.

 

[Scribe]

sigh...I need a that ain't it emoji response.

 

[trappedslider]

 

[overgeeked]

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” —Upton Sinclair

Replace salary with just about anything. Fun, argument, etc.

 

[payn]

I did say I’d game with anybody at least once, but now need to amend that statement.

 

[trappedslider]

sigh...I need a that ain't it emoji response.

Can I offer you a in these trying times?

 

[Thomas Shey]

Exactly. Evidence doesn’t shift opinion. We have studies about this. People just decide whatever random opinion they have is right and nothing will ever move them. Once a discussion moves into the argument phase, it’s already spiraled too far down the drain to be saved.

That's usually dependent on a bunch of factors including how long they've had it, and whether they've got any emotional loading on the topic (hint: the latter is pretty common once someone is willing to argue about it). Past that its a little over-general; I've certainly had topics that I just turned out to have insufficient information on, and once directed to more extensive or authoritative data, have changed my position.

(There can be a problem with the word "evidence" though; if I've got, say, decades of experience and third party evidence that X is true, no one should be surprised that one or two counter-examples isn't going to move me; they probably aren't the first counter-examples I've ever seen so at best they're joining a pile I'm comparing to the pile indicating the position I currently have. Given enough of them, I'll probably change my position, but Poster X's particular ones aren't exceptionally likely to be the one that tips it over (all the more so since as the piles get more even I often stop discussing the issue since I no longer feel terribly confident to do so).