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> The loudest, most bombastic engineer states their case with certainty, and that shuts down discussion. I work with this person and none of the devs here even

> The loudest, most bombastic engineer states their case with certainty, and that shuts down discussion. I work with this person and none of the devs here even say anything about strong opinions, whether or not they're weakly held. This (the engineer's in the example) is poor argumentation, not a loosely-held strong opinion. I can have a strong opinion and simply not voice it. I might change that opinion after gaining a new perspective because I don't identify with the opinion (hold it weakly). Complaints about people who don't introspect aside, this doesn't read as an issue with the "strong opinions" idea.

catsarebetter 4y ago
Ya agreed there's a difference between strong opinion and lack of social intelligence
kayodelycaon 4y ago
I’ve always associated “strong opinions” as “strongly stated”. Or in other terms with an attitude of “I have said this and I’m right.” It’s very dismissive and unnecessarily confrontational.
- lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
  If someone has that attitude then they are not "weakly" or "loosely" holding their opinion and I'd further argue that they don't even have an opinion and instead just "want to be right". That is an implementation of "I don't give a fuck what's true, tightly held".
  - jfengel 4y ago
    The advice doesn't give any direction one way or the other on how you express the opinion. Some interpret "weakly held" to mean "hold your tongue"; some interpret "strong opinions" as "opinions worthy of being expressed strongly". The advice in thus kind of vapid: it doesn't tell you how to apply the opinion in the very important case that others disagree with it. The advice is most apropos in a vacuum -- and applies perfectly to your opinion of a spherical cow.
yowzadave 4y ago
Agreed--I think the OP misunderstands the concept. I have a background in architecture, and in that design context, it's definitely helpful if someone with good intuition is quick to form opinions. Even if the overall destination is unknown, when a design lead is presented with early concepts, they need to be able to quickly form a judgment: is this concept good/promising/interesting? Is it better or worse than other alternatives being compared? In the lack of a clear opinion, junior designers can find themselves flailing and directionless. Yes, those opinionated people can sometimes be wrong. But there's a difference between being stubborn/difficult, and giving clear value judgements when presented with choices, while being willing to revisit when further study proves those initial judgements wrong. How would you feel if, as a junior developer, every time you asked a more senior colleague for direction, they just shrugged their shoulders?

catsarebetter 4y ago

Ya agreed there's a difference between strong opinion and lack of social intelligence

kayodelycaon 4y ago

I’ve always associated “strong opinions” as “strongly stated”. Or in other terms with an attitude of “I have said this and I’m right.” It’s very dismissive and unnecessarily confrontational.

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 4y ago
If someone has that attitude then they are not "weakly" or "loosely" holding their opinion and I'd further argue that they don't even have an opinion and instead just "want to be right". That is an implementation of "I don't give a fuck what's true, tightly held".
- jfengel 4y ago
  The advice doesn't give any direction one way or the other on how you express the opinion. Some interpret "weakly held" to mean "hold your tongue"; some interpret "strong opinions" as "opinions worthy of being expressed strongly". The advice in thus kind of vapid: it doesn't tell you how to apply the opinion in the very important case that others disagree with it. The advice is most apropos in a vacuum -- and applies perfectly to your opinion of a spherical cow.

yowzadave 4y ago

Agreed--I think the OP misunderstands the concept. I have a background in architecture, and in that design context, it's definitely helpful if someone with good intuition is quick to form opinions. Even if the overall destination is unknown, when a design lead is presented with early concepts, they need to be able to quickly form a judgment: is this concept good/promising/interesting? Is it better or worse than other alternatives being compared? In the lack of a clear opinion, junior designers can find themselves flailing and directionless. Yes, those opinionated people can sometimes be wrong. But there's a difference between being stubborn/difficult, and giving clear value judgements when presented with choices, while being willing to revisit when further study proves those initial judgements wrong. How would you feel if, as a junior developer, every time you asked a more senior colleague for direction, they just shrugged their shoulders?