Discover Myself Through Writing

I find that having conversations with others often challenges you to reveal things about yourself that you do not know. I am the kind of person that usually formulates an opinion at least three times. It's really a system I have that really assists me in day to day life. Broken down it looks a little like this.

1. Gut Opinion - This is the opinion formulated instantly when hearing someone's view on an issue. I rarely ever share this, unless it is an opinion on an issue I am already educated on. For example if someone says, "Nickelback is the greatest band of all time", while I have not studied the topic specifically I am familiar with Nickelback's body of work. While I am not repulsed by them in the way that most people are, I still know from my knowledge bank that there are other bands closer to the apex of the hierarchy.

2. Parrot Opinion - This is when you hear one side of an issue or argument and form your opinion entirely off of this. Again, I am not comfortable in expressing one of these opinions openly because it leaves you open for attack. There are some topics where this can work. I will sometimes enter a sports conversation and parrot something that my brother has stated. I do this because I know that he spends a lot of time watching, reading and listening to sport. I also know that he will not usually make a statement without some facts to back it up, so I remember those facts too. So I just hope that he knew what he was talking about so when I enter a conversation with, "Shaq is shooting over ninety percent from the charity stripe this year" I will not look like a fool or be asked for further evidence. An opinion in sports or music is pretty easy to defend (aside from a statistics mistake such as the one above) since there is usually no real right answer even if you're a fan of the Detroit Lions you can still wear your big blue #1 foam finger.

If, however, you hear, "September 11 was an inside job! The mayor of San Francisco even cancelled his flight that morning because he was warned of the attack." While this anecdotal evidence might be interesting, it would at least require a little due diligence on your part to learn more about the issue. Even find the answers to your obvious questions like, "If it was a plot that went all the way to the San Francisco mayor, how has this not leaked by now, or before it even happened?" If you just go out and parrot this opinion selling it as a fact you will certainly be discredited and your opinions will no longer be of importance.

3. Informed Opinion - This is an opinion that has been formed by varying degrees of research on a topic. Sometimes you can simply read two opposing articles on a topic and know where you stand. In fact your opinion may not have even changed over the course of these steps. Just be careful that you are open to changing your opinion through the course of the debate. If you are able to see the issue from other points of view you have a better chance of making an informed opinion. Researching and forming an opinion on some subjects becomes a slippery slope. In order to prevent contradicting yourself you may have to revisit old opinions that you have already formulated. This type of flip-flopping is absolutely necessary in life. If you never have changed your mind in the presence of new evidence then you have not really opened yourself up to education.