Thursday, February 14, 2013

Arrogance

Figured it out.

We learn from each other, compare and trade wisdoms and beliefs and perspectives, and through this grow individually and grow together. If you have bad ideas and weak convictions, you benefit most from this process while enjoying it least; if you are confident and wise, you gain nothing and feel awesome about it.

Wise and unsure is a problem, though. Someone with a good idea they don't believe in strongly can be steam-rolled out of it by a relatively complicated bad idea; if you don't understand something, but want to be thought to, you kinda have to agree with it. It's a rule, though admittedly one that defeats the purpose of discussion.

When two such persons meet, and if neither is aware of this process, the most complicated belief on a given subject will end up being accepted by both regardless of how consistent it is with reality.

Ergo, if you are unsure of the validity of your beliefs, but find them apparently more intricate than those of others, such beliefs must be restrained from overpowering the potentially good, if perhaps simpler, ideas of others, something I would call a destruction of wisdom.

To be clear, this does of course presume that my ideas Are more complicated than yours, something we can't know for sure without discussion. A risk, to be sure, but in most cases of my experience not a large one.

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