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> I'm often flexible in my beliefs ... but it can be dangerous if you don't place some principled boundaries on your self As the saying goes: have an open mind

> I'm often flexible in my beliefs ... but it can be dangerous if you don't place some principled boundaries on your self As the saying goes: have an open mind, but not so open that your brain falls out.

svieira 3y ago
"The purpose of opening your mind, as with opening your mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." G. K. Chesterton
- throw__away7391 3y ago
  I don't really agree with this at all. You need to keep possibilities open for forever. I would guess that whoever the author has decided on some opinions he considers "solid" and feels that other people need to come to agree with him. This is hardly a remarkable position.
  - edmundsauto 3y ago
    In my experience, keeping possibilities open has a cost. It’s like leaving a port open on a server just in case, or letting clients idle. All resources, including my attention, are limited. We have to prune our gardens to create space for other things.
    - Gud 3y ago
      This also means you will be wrong on some topics you are not willing to reconsider.
      - edmundsauto 3y ago
        Yes, I am wrong on a lot of things. I’m not sure I’m unwilling to reconsider them all - but there is a higher barrier to entry for a flat earth discussion because of how I think. The alternative seems to be to be willing to converse about anything - I have goals and shit to do, I don’t need to deeply consider that maybe the moon landing was faked.
  - gingerrr 3y ago
    To extend the original metaphor - your mouth doesn't stay shut forever, or you starve. So the idea is more to sink your brain or teeth into substantive thoughts, as you encounter them. It's not about closing your mind/mouth around a new dogma, but about exercising them for nutrition not for pleasure/vice (or letting them atrophy). I think the "re-closing" of the mind here more represents fitting new information into a new holistic, consistent worldview. New information would obviously require that exercise again. Chesterton is simply arguing against allowing yourself to be buffeted by the winds of thought trend, to the point you have no center.
    - throw__away7391 3y ago
      Well it's a bad one. It isn't even a metaphor really, it's a word game relying on particulars of the English language, and it breaks down quite quickly as you could just as easily express the exact opposite point with slightly different phrasing, e.g. you need new food each day. I guess you could print it on a coaster to put your "eat pray love" mug on.
      - gingerrr 3y ago
        > It isn't even a metaphor really, it's a word game relying on particulars of the English language It's absolutely a metaphor, just because you didn't understand it doesn't change the meaning the author conveyed. It's written in English, I'm not sure what point you think you are making by pointing that out. > you could just as easily express the exact opposite point So you didn't read my comment you replied to? You need new nutritive food each day, not junk or empty calories - the metaphor covers this exact scenario. When you're eating every day do you just grab literally the first thing at hand and stuff your face until you're full? Or do you make conscious choices about what to put in your body? If you're in the first camp you may not understand this metaphor - it's for people who consciously consume, both food and thoughts. If you mindlessly scroll and ideate, sorry you're the target of Chesterton's criticism - that doesn't make his metaphor bad, it just makes his argument valid. > I guess you could print it on a coaster to put your "eat pray love" mug on The irony, considering you're engaging with this quote at the same shallow level you claim to criticize. G.K. Chesterton has an entire body of intellectual work consistent with the quote and metaphor extension I've done above - but you've decided to tilt at the windmill of a pithy quote as if it's synecdoche.

svieira 3y ago

"The purpose of opening your mind, as with opening your mouth, is to shut it again on something solid." G. K. Chesterton

throw__away7391 3y ago
I don't really agree with this at all. You need to keep possibilities open for forever. I would guess that whoever the author has decided on some opinions he considers "solid" and feels that other people need to come to agree with him. This is hardly a remarkable position.
- edmundsauto 3y ago
  In my experience, keeping possibilities open has a cost. It’s like leaving a port open on a server just in case, or letting clients idle. All resources, including my attention, are limited. We have to prune our gardens to create space for other things.
  - Gud 3y ago
    This also means you will be wrong on some topics you are not willing to reconsider.
    - edmundsauto 3y ago
      Yes, I am wrong on a lot of things. I’m not sure I’m unwilling to reconsider them all - but there is a higher barrier to entry for a flat earth discussion because of how I think. The alternative seems to be to be willing to converse about anything - I have goals and shit to do, I don’t need to deeply consider that maybe the moon landing was faked.
- gingerrr 3y ago
  To extend the original metaphor - your mouth doesn't stay shut forever, or you starve. So the idea is more to sink your brain or teeth into substantive thoughts, as you encounter them. It's not about closing your mind/mouth around a new dogma, but about exercising them for nutrition not for pleasure/vice (or letting them atrophy). I think the "re-closing" of the mind here more represents fitting new information into a new holistic, consistent worldview. New information would obviously require that exercise again. Chesterton is simply arguing against allowing yourself to be buffeted by the winds of thought trend, to the point you have no center.
  - throw__away7391 3y ago
    Well it's a bad one. It isn't even a metaphor really, it's a word game relying on particulars of the English language, and it breaks down quite quickly as you could just as easily express the exact opposite point with slightly different phrasing, e.g. you need new food each day. I guess you could print it on a coaster to put your "eat pray love" mug on.
    - gingerrr 3y ago
      > It isn't even a metaphor really, it's a word game relying on particulars of the English language It's absolutely a metaphor, just because you didn't understand it doesn't change the meaning the author conveyed. It's written in English, I'm not sure what point you think you are making by pointing that out. > you could just as easily express the exact opposite point So you didn't read my comment you replied to? You need new nutritive food each day, not junk or empty calories - the metaphor covers this exact scenario. When you're eating every day do you just grab literally the first thing at hand and stuff your face until you're full? Or do you make conscious choices about what to put in your body? If you're in the first camp you may not understand this metaphor - it's for people who consciously consume, both food and thoughts. If you mindlessly scroll and ideate, sorry you're the target of Chesterton's criticism - that doesn't make his metaphor bad, it just makes his argument valid. > I guess you could print it on a coaster to put your "eat pray love" mug on The irony, considering you're engaging with this quote at the same shallow level you claim to criticize. G.K. Chesterton has an entire body of intellectual work consistent with the quote and metaphor extension I've done above - but you've decided to tilt at the windmill of a pithy quote as if it's synecdoche.