Arguments Make You Smarter

Now here is a headline I can agree with. BBC Why Becoming More Argumentative will Make You Smarter  My Korean friends and I were discussing my opinion that none of my readers ever change their position...  I told them that though sometimes the endless disagreements demotivate...  The endless learning I gain by being exposed to thousands of links, beliefs, facts, etc has made it more than worthwhile.

"Alone, we easily fall into lazy thinking and gather arguments to reinforce our assumptions. Only by setting yourself the challenge of convincing others, of finding the weaknesses in their arguments, and letting them seek out the faults in your arguments, can you test out ideas.

That’s why I’m arguing that you owe it to yourself, the people you work with, and society at large, to get into a good argument at least once a day. And by ‘good’, I mean both rigorous and respectful. As Gallo says, “Disagreement does not have to be unkind. It does not have to be mean. You can do it with empathy, compassion and kindness.”

After reading that, I feel so sorry for people who stay quiet in their little safe space.  And those who insist that they are correct and the answer is simple.

And before you start...😄  Yes I have strong beliefs and opinions. However I read every comment and link you provide in hopes of learning something new or understanding your perspective better.

Thanks to these endless back and forth discussions with you and others, I am very ready to defend my beliefs and rationale.  Unlike many people I challenge who answer with:

• That's what Rush / FOX says...
• That's what Paul Krugman / Mother Jones says...
• You should just trust me...
• You are stupid or Conservative
• etc

Thank you for all the arguments!!!