have you ever changed your opinion?

[mfeff]

apparently we are hard wired to defend our opinions even if we are overwhelmingly convinced we are wrong so easy question:
have you ever been in the middle of a debate and suddenly realized you were wrong and admitted so to the other person?

Hard wired to defend our opinions? Sounds like Evolutionary Psychology to me... which has a lot of problems as a epidemiological sound science. (Shhhh... it's a pseudo science!)

In answer to your question... in life I have changed my opinion many times on many different subjects. Tend to think in language, language tends to be linear, life the universe and everything is a differential, conclusion... most words do not even come close to expressing things as they actually are... most error seems to come from a malformed assumption which leads the person to an incomplete or incoherent conclusion... we are all guilty of it by degrees but no one has total information. So live and let live.

 

[Musette]

Yes, I try to take in as much information as possible when forming an opinion, so I will take the information shared in a debate to heart when considering my opinion, particularly if I feel that the information is not too clouded with bias and is accurate. I also have a way of very rarely taking a polarizing stance though, so most of the time, I will reason with both sides of a debate

 

[Vegosiux]

I have, yes. My opinions were changed by facts and experience, and not by people's use of rhetoric tools, however. Examples? Huh, I can't put my finger on any right now, but usually it's in form of my position getting a bit more moderate.

 

[V3rtig0]

Yes, if reasonable arguments are presented to me in favour of the opposing opinion and they weigh more heavily than my arguments for my opinion, I may change my initial viewpoint. I'm a rational person and as such, I rationalise often. I defend my opinion, but if I'm proven wrong(in cases where opinions are not a matter of taste, but actual right/wrong arguments based on facts), I will be open to the other viewpoint.

 

[Dead Seerius]

Constantly. I guess a sort of 'life changer' opinion switch for me would've been the window of time where I stopped taking everything my Catholic school teachers said about the faith for absolute fact; when I was 13 and started thinking for myself instead of what people told me I should think.

This is not intended to start a religious flame war. I am still a practicing Catholic and fairly proud of it, but this is pretty much the only huge opinion shift I've encountered in my life so far.

 

[Jfswift]

I'll change my opinion if someone presents a strong argument against it.

 

[TaboriHK]

Anyone who answers no has not yet matured into adulthood.

 

[Singularly Datarific]

Yes, I'm starting to get just as pissed off at liberals as I am at conservatives. One of them does an awful lot of mucking about in my personal life and says it's a good idea, and the other one does an awful lot of mucking about in my personal life but claims it doesn't support it.

 

[Lunar Templar]

Yes, it happens. Recently to.


I've been firmly against the new DmC game, for reason ranging from the FPS to the devs being assholes to the fans, to the Nephilim thing.

The I actually sat down and played it, getting the full context for all the changes, cause if I was gonna stay on about how it's an 'insult o the series' I should at least know what I'm talking about right?

Funny thing happened, I ended up enjoying the game, and kinda liking the new spin on Dante, as well as a lot of other things. The game is flawed to be sure, but I don't dislike it like I thought I would.

Ninja Theory can still go fuck them selves though

 

[Captain Epic]

No one alive has opinions that are based purely on first impressions. I have never met anyone that stubborn.

 

[Ironbat92]

I'm starting regret my post called "Devil May Cry Fans are the worst fans." Even though the fan that put that "protest" is an idiot, along with the other 66 people who signed it, I've been starting to realize that I shouldn't say fans are "the worst fans ever" because a few of them are acting like annoying loud mouths. Other, things I've changed my opinion on:

Dead Space 3's Micro transactions: I don't think it's THAT bad, since it's there for people who don't have enough time to play, and it's just optional.
E.A: Don't like a lot of their business decisions nor am I fan of the company, but I think people have gotten a bit obsessed with the hatred of them or just blow it out of proportion.
Call of Duty: I use use to Hate the series, but once I got out of High School, I don't know, I just don't hate it.

 

[Dangit2019]

If I do, I usually don't respond and let the words they're saying sink in, and think about it before considering it as correct. That sounded incredibly nerdy and cynical, so here:

Spoiler: PUPPIES

 

[thesilentman]

apparently we are hard wired to defend our opinions even if we are overwhelmingly convinced we are wrong so easy question:
have you ever been in the middle of a debate and suddenly realized you were wrong and admitted so to the other person?

That's the beauty of playing Devil's Advocate; you can tell if an opinion is flat out wrong in cases.

As for the question, it's pretty much standard procedure whenever someone is clearly talking out of their ass. I counter their arguments and show how much bullshit they've been spouting, even if what I'm defending is something I hate with my being.

 

[Alssadar]

As a man who believes that adaptation and the ability to see the logic of multiple viewpoints, I have taken multiple stands, and can see the logic behind each one.
As I do not have all the full information behind each side, however, I do not argue for or against them--as I do not seek to lose any argument. Thus, I keep my opinions to myself.

 

[CrimsonBlaze]

Yep, and you can blame college for that.

You get to meet a lot of great people with a lot of strong opinions and you quickly realize how some or your own views or opinions can be overturned.

 

[NoeL]

Yes, I've changed my opinion on a few things. I've also been the primary influence on a number of people's change of opinion on religion of all things. It always warms my heart when I hear a guy I debated in past years gives up on religion, and blames (/thanks) me for their loss of faith.

 

[Loonyyy]

Yes. It just takes time and effort.

I changed my position from Christian to Atheist.
I changed my position from anti-gay to pro-gay.
I changed my position from eating meat to not eating meat.
I changed my position from being strongly anti-American, to realising that position was stupid.
I was anti alcohol and drugs, and now I am pro.

It just takes effort and a willingness to address where you may be incorrect. And it's hard. A lot of these positions are deeply cherished, and we're not good at rationally weighing two sides when we already ascribe to one side. It's not easy, because confirmation bias makes it easier to dismiss counter arguments than to weigh them fairly. And most of us are aware enough of this to suffer from cognitive dissonance, and it takes a lot of effort to get around that.

 

[krazykidd]

Of course . But there are things that i won't change my opinion about.

God. The benefits of possibly going to heaven outweights the benefits of being an atheist .

Homosexuals . I have nothing against homosexuals , live and let live , but they make me uncomfortable , so i won't befriend one anytime soon .

People are not worth trusting . This is self explanatory . I don't trust people and they don't deserve my trust . Everybody lies and everyone does everything for a selfish reason whether they know it or not.

 

[game-lover]

Yeah, sure. Reluctantly, I think most times but sure.

I've grown fond of saying the phrase "I/I'll concede" whenever that happens. I'll concede your point. I'll concede I misunderstood. And yadda yadda.

 

[Palademon]

Yes, I took Philosophy as an A Level so it happened quite a lot.

This kind of thinking is why I could never support a sports team. I'd merely constantly assume the one that last won the championship was the best.