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I get the impression you're too smart to change your opinion on this. That's not meant sarcastically; smart people are able to rationalize away even the most ex

I get the impression you're too smart to change your opinion on this. That's not meant sarcastically; smart people are able to rationalize away even the most extreme cognitive dissonance. I don't blame you. Looking at a situation from a viewpoint opposed to one's own is quite literally physiologically painful, and who needs that. There's also nothing to be gained by doing so. Most likely your family and friends and co-workers, given your area, are of a similar mindset, so there's no social capital to be gained. It's unlikely that it will net you a better job or higher paying salary, or make your life easier in any way. Seeing other viewpoints can help with compassion, though, and that might be a necessary ingredient for a society. Not that that's your concern: an individual is negligible to the behavior of the collective.

Klonoar 6y ago
This comment is super weird, and while it's a fun attempt at a subtle insult, it just kind of falls apart. Why would I ever change my opinion to gain social capital, or make my life easier? I base it off of documented events; we've all lived the same past year whether people want to believe it or not. It's simply not rationalizing when an individual looks at these two events that are clearly different in buildup, intent, and outcome, and then chooses to not view them the same. Trying to bait someone with this stuff feels really old school internet, but not in an effective way.
- tacitusarc 6y ago
  It's not an attempt at a subtle insult. It's not meant to be insulting at all. At most, it's a personal reflection on certainty. I guess maybe it acts as something of a Rorschach test, but that wasn't the intent either. We could probably have an interesting conversation in person, maybe even a meaningful one; but on the internet that's pretty much impossible. I certainly don't expect to change your mind, or even to convince you there's a possibility you might be wrong. You don't seem to have anything particularly new or insighful to add, so it's unlikely my opinions will shift. So there's not really a point in having a discussion, at least not in a format where we need to type out long comments and do point by point rebuttals. And in any case other people are already doing the point my point contentious debate thing with you, and it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on anyone so it's a pretty obvious waste of time. You seem the argumentative sort though so feel free to respond to this and explain why I'm wrong about whatever. I'll be drinking scotch and I do recommend that instead, but whatever you decide have a nice Tuesday night.

Klonoar 6y ago

This comment is super weird, and while it's a fun attempt at a subtle insult, it just kind of falls apart. Why would I ever change my opinion to gain social capital, or make my life easier? I base it off of documented events; we've all lived the same past year whether people want to believe it or not. It's simply not rationalizing when an individual looks at these two events that are clearly different in buildup, intent, and outcome, and then chooses to not view them the same. Trying to bait someone with this stuff feels really old school internet, but not in an effective way.

tacitusarc 6y ago
It's not an attempt at a subtle insult. It's not meant to be insulting at all. At most, it's a personal reflection on certainty. I guess maybe it acts as something of a Rorschach test, but that wasn't the intent either. We could probably have an interesting conversation in person, maybe even a meaningful one; but on the internet that's pretty much impossible. I certainly don't expect to change your mind, or even to convince you there's a possibility you might be wrong. You don't seem to have anything particularly new or insighful to add, so it's unlikely my opinions will shift. So there's not really a point in having a discussion, at least not in a format where we need to type out long comments and do point by point rebuttals. And in any case other people are already doing the point my point contentious debate thing with you, and it doesn't seem to have much of an effect on anyone so it's a pretty obvious waste of time. You seem the argumentative sort though so feel free to respond to this and explain why I'm wrong about whatever. I'll be drinking scotch and I do recommend that instead, but whatever you decide have a nice Tuesday night.