We live in an age of misinformation, but it’s not always on purpose. Sometimes we hear things or come to conclusions that end up becoming fact in our heads. Other times it can be malicious with intent to deceive or subvert. Sometimes it’s in the middle.
Where do you draw the line with regards to people being wrong about things and feeling compelled to correct or respond to their wrongness?
Am I wrong?
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that ‘my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge’.”
—Isaac Asimov, “A Cult of Ignorance”, Newsweek (1980-01-21)
awesome quote
It’s not limited to a specific country (anymore)
100% okay, as long as you correct it at the first reasonable opportunity. In practice a lot of people are less motivated by truth and solutions than by personal cachet and identity, though.
Totally agree. Humans are imperfect and everyone has their blind spots/weaknesses. If you can listen and hear when someone corrects you and learn it - truly internalize the new information being presented to you and allow it to reshape your worldview - what more could you ask for than that? It annoys me to no end when someone is so stubborn that they can’t admit they were wrong or mis/under informed, like when their ego is so fragile they can never admit any shortcoming they possess.
🎯🎯🎯
Being wrong is fine and expected. Everyone is wrong about something and everyone has been wrong at some point in their lives before.
What’s not okay is not admitting to being wrong or holding onto wrong beliefs even in the face of evidence to the contrary. Lots of people get defensive about their opinions or the facts they believe and assign their identity to those things. This is harmful and should be avoided.
The root cause is what we call evidence and if it can be trusted or not. Some people will trust some evidence and others won’t. This is why a person don’t agree sometimes that they are wrong. It’s all relative to what evidence you believe or don’t believe.
Kinda, but “I saw it on facebook” or “My psychic told me” is not evidence and people need to know that.
Critical thinking is a lost skill, it seems.
I don’t really mind nor care when someone is wrong about something as long as they’re not bothering/affecting other people.
For example:
Someone believes that flat earth is real. Fine, whatever, you’re not really going to cause any harm with this.
On the other hand, during the pandemic, when people refused to wear masks/take vaccines. Then it becomes a problem because they’re affecting other people (potentially putting them at risk)
As Confucius once put it, “it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not go backwards.”
To the extent that you’re not a dick about it.
Don’t be too confident in something you didn’t research enough. Don’t be too loud about shit you don’t understand.
Don’t be haphazard with the truth about things that can put peoples’ lives at risk. Don’t make shit up about vaccines.
Don’t lie on purpose. Don’t lie or bullshit for attention. Bullshitting with friends for fun is obviously fine if they know you’re not serious.
If somebody points out your mistake, understand what they’re saying, learn from it, and be gracious about it. Don’t double down just to save face, that’ll only ever make things worse.
If they provide zero sources yet claim to be correct.
I’m a pedant, it’s not that I always want to be right, I just don’t want to be wrong. Happy to be corrected. :)
Accepting any source as proof of correctness can be a problem in of itself.
Yeah, I always search for a meta-analysis of the subject.
I’ve seen far too many promising studies that get media hype and then nothing
Same here. I find that those with no critical thinking skills are quick to say ‘oh you just can’t stand to be wrong’–no! I have the self-respect to educate myself and not spread misinformation.
I have a friend who seems to believe any bullshit he reads on Facebook and “wellness” sites. It’s exhausting how he brings up this moronic shit and then acts smug that I’m “not open to other points of view.” It’s honestly pushed us apart and I just don’t have patience or sympathy for people who constantly fall for obvious misinformation. I’ve just settled on keeping those people at a distance for my own sanity.
Being wrong is part of being human. We are all biaised one way or another, whether you think you are or not. Being wrong is not wrong in itself, it’s only wrong if when presented with solid proof or concrete evidence you don’t change your mind.
Arguing with someone that you feel is wrong and trying to change their mind is hard. I try to draw the line at willing ignorance, stubbornness, aggressivity or bad faith. These things drive me up the wall so I try to steer clear when possible.
Also when I’m at the gym, and I see someone doing something that could lead to injury (straight legs on the press kind of things), I always ask for consent before giving my advice (can I share a tip on the things you’re doing ?). Most of the time people accept and sometimes they apply my tip, sometimes they just don’t care and that’s okay too.I am never wrong. If God herself came down and told me I was wrong, he is wrong.
To the point at which one is offered real, expert, and/or verifiably backed information contrary to one’s position. Then it is no longer necessary to listen to an incorrect opinion. One certainly can be entitled to an opinion, but they are not entitled to the recipient of that opinion accepting it.
Offer the information one time, then let it go. There’s an often repeated phrase that “you cannot reason a person out of a position that they did not use reason to get themselves into”. There’s no point in continuing to engage with someone who has willfully rejected the readily available correct information and actively sought out BS. The facts are out there. What people have taken lifetimes to study, is verifiable in real-world application, craft intelligent and understandable results, checked against peers’ work, had peers check their work is the truth until better evidence arrives.
It’s a slippery slope if you engage with someone who is loaded with wrong opinion, it’s likely all they will do is butwhatabout their opponent. They will not argue in good faith. The opponent will do their best to offer the most correct information they know and decline to offer facts of which they are unsure of; the butwhatabouter will proceed until they encounter a gap in knowledge or fact and pounce, declaring victory, because to them the absence of contrary knowledge is as good as victory.
It’s human nature to be confident in your knowledge. We have an innate need to know what is, what was, and what will be. Uncertainty creates anxiety and discomfort.
That’s why discovery is so thrilling. But it’s also why people cling to the ideas we make up to explain things. It’s why our memories feel like facts, when we know from experience that they can be flawed or even manipulated.
Everyone reacts differently to being wrong, and will react differently to being challenged on what they believe to be true. There is no line, because every situation, every person, is different.
In those situations, I try to take a moment and empathize with the person who is wrong, and consider how they feel about what they believe. Is it an emotional topic? Something they are passionate about? Is it an important thing to get right, or is it an inconsequential bit of trivia?
What sort of person are they? Are they concerned with their appearance of authority or competence? Will they think you are helping or attacking them?
Usually when you factor in the nuance, the answer is obvious. Sometimes it isn’t, though, and you just have to make a judgement call and see how it goes. You might get it wrong, and that’s OK.
Useful idiots that broadcast misinformation are a weapon in your enemy’s arsenal.
I have the right to be wrong. My wife disagrees.
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