Pineapple Express: Someone Is Wrong on the Internet?

[prabe]

If ever you stop frequently being wrong about stuff, check for a pulse.

Or step outside your comfort zone.

 

[trappedslider]

We CAN overcome that innate tendency. But it takes a lot of work on the part of each individual.

and that's if the individual WANTS to make that change

But that this was true. The world is all too full of people who will hold on to any error you've made until the end of time.

especially if you're a high profile person.

 

[Ryujin]

Or step outside your comfort zone.

If simply stepping outside your comfort zone is a fix then you were probably wrong anyway, but also wrong about being right.

 

[Umbran]

If simply stepping outside your comfort zone is a fix then you were probably wrong anyway, but also wrong about being right.

I think (and I might be wrong about this) is that they meant that maybe you are generally correct within your comfort zone, and that stepping out of your comfort zone is apt to put you in the position where you will be wrong about something.

Mind you, there are times when you don't need to "fix" being right all the time. My wife is a veterinarian. When she is right, she reduces the pain and suffering in the world. So, her always being right is a good thing.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If RPGs are collaborative storytelling games, why is tragedy and/or failure not an acceptable option? Not all stories have happy endings.

Tragedies aren't happy stories until a surprise sad ending, though. The entire structure of the story typically arcs towards doom, with foreshadowing, etc.

In an RPG, this might be reflected in the characters (or the DM) saying "sure, we're ready to take on the BBEG" when a third party could see that's clearly not true, but if we're truly leaning on the collective story aspect of RPGs, it can't just be down to bad luck at the end. (And this goes for the players, too: If you don't want the campaign to turn out to be a tragedy, don't go into a fight that you might win. Kobayashi Maru that thing.)

 

[Umbran]

and that's if the individual WANTS to make that change

The individual needs to want to change, and they need to be in an environment in which that change is supported.

There's a term for all this, actually - "psychological safety". Humans, broadly, are far more capable of collaboration, creativity, and innovation when they have psychological safety then when they don't.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

But that this was true. The world is all too full of people who will hold on to any error you've made until the end of time.

Well, you may be right. But those people are saying more about themselves than about you.

I just find it disheartening that it seems that people are so caught up in being "right," that they refuse to admit that they are wrong. Ever. It feels like every person has internalized the Shaggy defense.

"Don't believe the facts. Don't believe your lying eyes. I am not wrong. It wasn't me."

It doesn't even matter how stupid the argument is ...

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A long time ago, I had a winning dispositive argument. And I wrote it up, knowing I had the other side dead to rights. I was so proud of myself. Anyway, long story short ... I saw the response they wrote. And you know what? I was wrong. I had messed something up, and while the case would still go on (it was fact-intensive), my kill-shot was ... wrong.

I called the other side, thanked them for pointing it out, and withdrew the motion.

And as @Umbran pointed out, being wrong (and admitting that you're wrong) is actually good. Good for society, and good for you. That example I gave? It made be more careful, because I never wanted that to happen again. And it made me appreciate other people that do it as well.

It's also something I try to teach to the young 'uns. If you're never wrong, how can you learn anything? Eh, I don't understand what I'm seeing, and I feel like it's getting worse.

 

[Reynard]

Tragedies aren't happy stories until a surprise sad ending, though. The entire structure of the story typically arcs towards doom, with foreshadowing, etc.

In an RPG, this might be reflected in the characters (or the DM) saying "sure, we're ready to take on the BBEG" when a third party could see that's clearly not true, but if we're truly leaning on the collective story aspect of RPGs, it can't just be down to bad luck at the end. (And this goes for the players, too: If you don't want the campaign to turn out to be a tragedy, don't go into a fight that you might win. Kobayashi Maru that thing.)

A TPK isn't a tragedy, it is a black comedy.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I just find it disheartening that it seems that people are so caught up in being "right," that they refuse to admit that they are wrong.

The day I learned how to say "yes, I messed up" is one of the two biggest milestones to me becoming an adult, along with the birth of my first child.

It never ceases to amaze me to encounter people decades older than me who never figured out that "I was wrong" makes you more credible and more trustworthy rather than less so.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

A TPK isn't a tragedy, it is a black comedy.

Comedies also have a structure, but an RPG game full of people quoting Monty Python and/or memes (depending on their age) is generally a pretty good fit.