Perhaps beliefs are exaggerated partially due to the chance of those who disagree with the belief expressing their disagreement being less than the chance of those who agree with it expressing their agreement with it.
Justification:
It seems the main incentive for expressing one’s agreement or disagreement (and the reasons for it) is to make the person more likely to hold your belief and thus more likely to hold a more accurate belief. If you agree with the person, expressing your agreement has little cost, as you probably won’t get into a lengthy argument, but it still has the benefit of reinforcing their belief. However, if you disagree, you are much more likely to get into a lengthy argument and may make them hostile to you, which can be much more costly.
Thus, I think it’s a good idea to account for this by actively seeking out arguments for opposing beliefs next time it seems the opposition has few good arguments. What do you all think?
Perhaps beliefs are exaggerated partially due to the chance of those who disagree with the belief expressing their disagreement being less than the chance of those who agree with it expressing their agreement with it.
Justification: It seems the main incentive for expressing one’s agreement or disagreement (and the reasons for it) is to make the person more likely to hold your belief and thus more likely to hold a more accurate belief. If you agree with the person, expressing your agreement has little cost, as you probably won’t get into a lengthy argument, but it still has the benefit of reinforcing their belief. However, if you disagree, you are much more likely to get into a lengthy argument and may make them hostile to you, which can be much more costly.
Thus, I think it’s a good idea to account for this by actively seeking out arguments for opposing beliefs next time it seems the opposition has few good arguments. What do you all think?