We Dislike What We Don’t Understand

Personal preference is a part of what makes us all unique. We all have different likes and dislikes. But could we dislike things simply because we don’t understand them?The philosopher John Stuart Mill theorises that if one has experienced both higher and lower pleasures then they will always choose the higher pleasure. One would always...

The Problem of Consensus

Having a very strong opinion about something while having people agree with you is intoxicating and a lot of motivation and energy can be derived from this experience. But having people agree with you does not make you right. There are many preachers that think evolution is a hoax and have large congregations of followers...

Excuses to Avoid Criticism

Criticism is one of the best ways to validate our ideas. In order for us to truly develop an idea to it’s logical conclusion we must expose that idea to criticism and even argument. But most of us have many ways we avoid sharing a dialog over our ideas. The most common things we say...

Opinions vs Reason Based Statements

“That’s just my opinion” is something we have all heard and said before. But when is saying this actually warranted and when should something be a statement because it is a fact, or a statement based on the best evidence? If we say, for example, “You shouldn’t drive in the rain with bald tires; it’s...

Perceived Truth or Objective Truth

What is more important, people’s perception of truth or objective truth? The answer will depend on what we value the most. If we value truth the most then what is objectively true is going to be the most important. But what if we value wellbeing the most? And what if we are talking about things...

Same Predicament, Different Response

Whether something is real or not and whether something is exaggerated or not, one thing we can be certain of is that it feels real to the person experiencing it. Whatever it happens to be, big or small, is subjectively real to that person.We might think someone being brought to tears at the idea of...

Same Information, Different Ideas.

If we all have good reasoning skills then shouldn’t we all be coming to the same conclusions based on the information we have? We are all exposed to similar information about things every day yet come to completely different conclusions than our friends. Why is this? One possible explanation is subjective viewpoints. Take this simple...

Bad Ideas are the Sharpening Stone of Good Ideas

Bad ideas are the sharpening stone for good ideas and the articulation of those ideas. If we think an idea is good, kindness for example, and leave it at that then this idea is just a platitude. It offers nothing except to make us feel like we said something good. But have that idea questioned...

Are we good at knowing how much we know?

Nobody likes coming across like they don’t know what they are talking about. Some people will avoid topics that they don’t know anything about to avoid showing their ignorance. Others will nod along with the conversation despite having no idea what is being talked about. I have found myself in this situation a few times...

On being understood.

One of the things I am most interested in is being understood i.e. communicating ideas in a way that their can be no misunderstanding. When you are in a conversation with someone and you have explained something and they reply, “I don’t understand” or “what do you mean?” you have not communicated your ideas clearly...