Increasingly, I’ve noticed an unwillingness in many to think open mindedly; to entertain new trains of thought. Something is said, and if it’s not immediately in-line with one’s own viewpoints, it is dismissed as rubbish with hardly a second glance.

I write an article that presents Intel or AMD in a negative light. Whether my article was logical, progressive, and well thought-out, or a complete load of editorial trash, the result will be the same: I’ll get 100 emails.

90 of those emails will be from angry and emotionally charged supporters of said company. They’ll be borderline irate with me, and will launch a small verbal onslaught. They’ll throw out popular buzzwords; a common favorite is ‘bias’, watch for it. They’ll accuse me of owning stock, being on someone’s payroll, or otherwise having some hidden agenda. They may even insist I’ve been smoking crack. They’ll do anything they can to discredit me.

Why? What does that accomplish?

Odds are, most of those 90 people didn’t take the time to read my article thoroughly in the first place, or to really consider the arguments made therein. Odds are they glanced over it, likely skipping a paragraph or two (come on, we’ve all done it), just so they could get to the end faster, at which time they proceeded to announce to the rest of the world just how wrong I really am.

What good has that done them?

The problem is that most of the writers of those 90 emails have already made up their minds. They know which company/product is better, and they’re not willing to hear anyone who thinks otherwise. It seems to me as though, especially regarding highly polarized debates, such as Intel/AMD, there is an increasing unwillingness to even consider an alternate viewpoint.

Since when are you so right that anyone who doesn’t agree with you isn’t even worth listening to? That attitude starts wars.

I’m not saying it’s bad to have an opinion, or to be passionate about it, I’m saying it’s bad to think that yours is the only opinion that’s worth considering. An unwillingness to entertain opposing trains of thought hurts you the most. You can go on thinking the world is flat, and be perfectly happy about it, and it won’t hurt me at all, just you.

But where does it get you? What good will that do you?

The fact of the matter is that it’s all a way out. It’s a way to avoid thinking. It’s very difficult to try to understand an opposing viewpoint, to think. It’s much easier to dismiss it, and we all like easy.

The easy route is very seldom the most enriching.

On the other hand, the remaining 10 of those emails will be completely different. They’ll be from people who are willing to entertain different ideas, people that are willing to think, and they’ll be so noticeable in both tone and content that you can pick them out half a mile away. The authors may agree with the arguments put forth in my article, or they may not. The difference between them and the 90 others is that, particularly if they don’t agree with me, they’ve considered my points, tried to view issues from my perspective, and used my arguments to test their own convictions. They haven’t gotten defensive, they’ve gotten inquisitive. They haven’t taken the easy road, they’ve taken the harder one.

Instead of dismissing my arguments, they’ve tried to see how they could be valid, and used them to test their own beliefs. If their beliefs withheld, they’re that much stronger.

Learn to welcome viewpoints which question your convictions, for they are the ones that will ultimately make you stronger. You don’t need to be 100% open-minded, no one is, and no one can be. That’s what makes us human. But the more you strive to consider new possibilities, the more you’ll see and learn and understand.

I'm not speaking of an article or a website, I'm speaking far more generally, of human behavior. And this certainly isn’t an assault or a lecture. I’m not attacking anyone, how can I for something I have been guilty of myself in the past? Instead, it’s an invitation for us all to improve ourselves.

Do you agree with me? Disagree? In either case, I’d like to hear why. Use the discussion link below, and let me know what you think.

Don't take the easy road, take the harder one. Don’t be one of the 90. Be one of the 10.

Dan Mepham