Acty, a question. What are you information sources? This is very general question—I’m not asking for citations, I’m asking on the basis of which streams of information do you form your worldview?
For example, for most people these streams would be (a) personal experiences; (b) what other people (family, friends) tell them; (c) what they absorb from the surrounding culture, mostly from mainstream media; and (d) what they were taught, e.g. in school.
You use phrases like “I cannot see any evidence” -- where cannot you see evidence? Who or what, do you think, reliably tells you what is happening in the world and how the world works?
Thanks for the extended answer. If I may make a couple of small suggestions—first, in figuring out where you views come from look at your social circle, both in meatspace and on the ’net. Bring to your mind people you like and respect, people you hope to be liked and respected by. What are their views, what kind of positions are acceptable in their social circle and what kind are not? What is cool and what is uncool?
And second, you are well aware that your views change. I will make a prediction: they will continue to change. Remember that and don’t get terribly attached to your current opinions or expect them to last forever. A flexible, open mind is a great advantage, try not to get it ossified before time :-)
but if I expected to change my mind about something in the future, surely I’d just change it now?
No, because you don’t know (now) in which direction will you change your mind (in the future).
As a general observation, you expect to learn a lot of things in the future. Hopefully, you will update your views on the basis of things you have learned—thus the change. But until you actually learn them, you can’t update.
Acty, a question. What are you information sources? This is very general question—I’m not asking for citations, I’m asking on the basis of which streams of information do you form your worldview?
For example, for most people these streams would be (a) personal experiences; (b) what other people (family, friends) tell them; (c) what they absorb from the surrounding culture, mostly from mainstream media; and (d) what they were taught, e.g. in school.
You use phrases like “I cannot see any evidence” -- where cannot you see evidence? Who or what, do you think, reliably tells you what is happening in the world and how the world works?
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Thanks for the extended answer. If I may make a couple of small suggestions—first, in figuring out where you views come from look at your social circle, both in meatspace and on the ’net. Bring to your mind people you like and respect, people you hope to be liked and respected by. What are their views, what kind of positions are acceptable in their social circle and what kind are not? What is cool and what is uncool?
And second, you are well aware that your views change. I will make a prediction: they will continue to change. Remember that and don’t get terribly attached to your current opinions or expect them to last forever. A flexible, open mind is a great advantage, try not to get it ossified before time :-)
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No, because you don’t know (now) in which direction will you change your mind (in the future).
As a general observation, you expect to learn a lot of things in the future. Hopefully, you will update your views on the basis of things you have learned—thus the change. But until you actually learn them, you can’t update.