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When I think back to the me of my teenage years or early twenties, I recognize that I had many strong beliefs that were probably wrong. I think that modern requ

When I think back to the me of my teenage years or early twenties, I recognize that I had many strong beliefs that were probably wrong. I think that modern requirements of self-censorship have at least one really valuable outcome. They force people (with jobs, reputations, etc) to think carefully before posting online. I suspect that many people may be like me - they are hesitant to click "add comment" not out of fear of having a mob come after them, but rather because (a) they have realized that their own current opinions may be wrong, and recognize that there is harm that comes from an abundance of wrong opinions or (b) the cost in time of careful self-editing is too high. Maybe the author of this piece would argue that this is a bad thing, but my impression is that it's almost universally the case that if you can't be careful in speaking/writing there will usually be less harm from silence than from blurting out whatever comes to mind immediately.

overgard 5y ago
Conversely though, if you're afraid to express an opinion that may be incorrect, then you're likely to hold that opinion much longer because nobody will be there to tell you you're wrong.
waterhouse 5y ago
There are plenty of people that cheerfully post extreme opinions, even under their own names on Facebook. I get the impression that these people are some combination of: reckless/impulsive, in a social bubble, "got nothing to lose", or not very careful thinkers. I think that the effect of more careful and cautious thinkers self-selecting out of the conversation is often just to make the conversation dominated by the above sorts of people, and I don't think that's an improvement.
jollybean 5y ago
" think that modern requirements of self-censorship have at least one really valuable outcome. They force people (with jobs, reputations, etc) to think carefully before posting online. " There's nothing wrong with being wrong. Especially in hindsight. We all regret things we've once said - that's the point of being human. This has nothing to do with 'getting people to think before they act' - in oppressive regimes with all of the power, it's about control. In open societies with competing ideologies it's a 'nation-sized knife-fight where certain groups are cutting down even their own in the name of antagonizing glory.
xenocratus 5y ago
> they have realized that their own current opinions may be wrong May be wrong how? In the eyes of a future Twitter mob?
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
lmm 5y ago
If all decent people keep their ideas quiet out of fear of writing something wrong, what's the public discourse going to look like? I think it'd be far better to acknowledge that even the best people are wrong a lot of the time, there will always be a plurality of views on a given subject, but having everyone chip in their best guess paints a far truer and more useful picture than having everyone defer to a handful of overconfident extremists.

overgard 5y ago

Conversely though, if you're afraid to express an opinion that may be incorrect, then you're likely to hold that opinion much longer because nobody will be there to tell you you're wrong.

waterhouse 5y ago

There are plenty of people that cheerfully post extreme opinions, even under their own names on Facebook. I get the impression that these people are some combination of: reckless/impulsive, in a social bubble, "got nothing to lose", or not very careful thinkers. I think that the effect of more careful and cautious thinkers self-selecting out of the conversation is often just to make the conversation dominated by the above sorts of people, and I don't think that's an improvement.

jollybean 5y ago

" think that modern requirements of self-censorship have at least one really valuable outcome. They force people (with jobs, reputations, etc) to think carefully before posting online. " There's nothing wrong with being wrong. Especially in hindsight. We all regret things we've once said - that's the point of being human. This has nothing to do with 'getting people to think before they act' - in oppressive regimes with all of the power, it's about control. In open societies with competing ideologies it's a 'nation-sized knife-fight where certain groups are cutting down even their own in the name of antagonizing glory.

xenocratus 5y ago

> they have realized that their own current opinions may be wrong May be wrong how? In the eyes of a future Twitter mob?

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

lmm 5y ago

If all decent people keep their ideas quiet out of fear of writing something wrong, what's the public discourse going to look like? I think it'd be far better to acknowledge that even the best people are wrong a lot of the time, there will always be a plurality of views on a given subject, but having everyone chip in their best guess paints a far truer and more useful picture than having everyone defer to a handful of overconfident extremists.