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Andrew Lokenauth

Normalize not having an opinion on things you don’t understand.

You're allowed to say, “I don't know enough about this to have an opinion on it.”

35 comments
Rage Rumbles 🏴‍☠️ 🏳️‍🌈 🔞

@FluentInFinance This goes with "Normalise tuning out people who have opinions on everything."

Paul McO'Smith III

@Black_Flag @FluentInFinance ah, but i will challenge the fuck out of you. if you're not prepared, you're going to have a very bad time. i don't need to know your domain more than trivially to do this.

Chris L

@Black_Flag @FluentInFinance and focus on what is important to you in the world.

Ariaflame

@Stefan_S_from_H @FluentInFinance Or you could educate yourself so that other people who don't know anything don't control your life?

Alexander The 1st

@FluentInFinance I'd rather not normalize that, because my immediate thought is U.S. Republican Senators and Members of Congress saying "I don't know enough about this to have an opinion on it." with respect to mass shootings, and whether or not gun control should be legislated.

If it is your job to have an opinion on it, you can't claim ignorance.

mosher

@FluentInFinance
Heads up! This makes a lot of people very mad. Which is one thing I don't understand, but don't feel bad about having an opinion on.

Kat

@mosher The comments on this post illustrate your point nicely, btw :)
@FluentInFinance

John Mastodon

@FluentInFinance Absurd. Not only environmentalists can talk about global warming for example. You might actually inform yourself if you have a desire of improvement. It's called researching, and it involves reading a lot!

Jargoggles

@FluentInFinance
Also "I don't know the answer to that off the top of my head, but I know how to find it."

CrazyDogLadySezHi

@FluentInFinance I’m more in favor of “I haven’t researched that. Have you?”

If someone can’t describe *how* they have informed themselves on a topic, or if it’s from tv or some corporate “social” media site, they can be dismissed as uninformed for purposes of my having any concern what they think on the subject. 🙄

AlexanderMars

@FluentInFinance don’t we already have a wilful ignorance problem?

mickymorse

@FluentInFinance Morons never say "I don't know." All of the gop have a "concept" of knowing. Follow a conman imbecile and his concept of project 2025.

bleep

@phocks @FluentInFinance yes. I have noticed myself being trained by LLMs to evolve coping mechanisms where I make them more productive by offering them an ‘out’ and instructing them to tell me if their confidence I the answer is not high. “Just let me know, it is OK to say ‘I don’t know’”.

Beeks

@FluentInFinance I know more about finance than this bot.

Stephanie Moore

@FluentInFinance Request exception: I do not understand Trump but I definitely have opinions on him.

Cykonot

@FluentInFinance a lot of times, when you tell someone something new, they'll loudly say "But I thought (random assumption)." As a kind of opposing proposition. They ACT like it's a question, but if you don't bite, they just start arguing.

My god is that annoying. Why spout off your uneducated assumptions like that. I don't want to argue with you. Why ask me? Why am I even talking to someone with so high and opinion of themselves and so low an opinion of me.

That's not how you ask questions.

Tom McNeely

@FluentInFinance This is good role-modeling to help counteract the Dunning-Kruger phenomenon, of ignorance leading to an inflated sense of confidence. And a good reminder to have some humility.

gmoke

@FluentInFinance
Good idea for a person with some maturity or perspective but
the people who most need to do it
won't

Richard Hector

@FluentInFinance My opinion is that if opinions were reserved for experts, society would get nowhere. Now, if you're talking about loudly arguing for one's opinion in public, against and ignoring opposing evidence, you might have a point.

Your Weirdness

@FluentInFinance This is pretty hard to do in an environment, where you're supposed to have some knowledge and an opinion about all sorts of things.
Some will criticize your, because they mistake your refusal to have an opinion as cowardice.
Others will criticize you, because they mistake your lack of knowledge as (willful) ignorance or idiocy.

Also knowing and noticing when you enter the realm of half-truths and speculation can be tricky as well bc it requires self-reflection.

@FluentInFinance This is pretty hard to do in an environment, where you're supposed to have some knowledge and an opinion about all sorts of things.
Some will criticize your, because they mistake your refusal to have an opinion as cowardice.
Others will criticize you, because they mistake your lack of knowledge as (willful) ignorance or idiocy.

small, primitive, wingless
@FluentInFinance i like how this post has so many naysaying replies that prove it right
Kat

@FluentInFinance This is one of the most useful things I learned to say, after "I don't know, but I'll find out."

DELETED

@matt I don't have any opinions about accessibility, I don't understand it. I'm not disabled, I just write Android apps

Matt Campbell

@drewdevault I see your point. I didn't think enough before boosting that post.

p

You're not disabled? Are you sure?
@drewdevault

jesterchen42

@FluentInFinance Perhaps it could even read:

You're expected to say, "I don't know enough about this to have an opinion an it", as long as this deems true.

Kirtai

@FluentInFinance
I remember getting shit for this from a teacher at school.
"I don't have an opinion."
"Well *get* one!"

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