Just trying to understand
I read a quote on Facebook the other day attributed to Bill Murray. “It’s hard to win an argument with a smart person, but it’s damn near impossible to win an argument with a stupid person.” I suspect that Bill Murray heard this somewhere because this often comes to my mind.
However, I think “stupid” is less correct than the term “blind spot.” I’d prefer saying, “you can’t win an argument with someone about something in their blind spot.”
When I started college, I thought that by the time I graduated, I’d know everything there was to know about my subject. When I graduated, I realized that I had barely scratched the surface. There is too much to know and in addition, things are changing at a very rapid rate. The more I learn the more I realize how much I still don’t know. Sadly, the realization that “I don’t know everything” is many folk’s biggest blind spot.
What are your blind spots?
We all have them, some more than others. Here are some examples of three common blind spots:
- “I belong to the only true and logical religion.”
- The election was stolen from the “make America great again” President.
- Since others are so much smarter than me, I should follow their advice.
On the other hand, maybe these are three of my blind spots. Maybe:
- You do belong to the only true and logical religion.
- President Trump is a “certified” genius, right about the election and has just been following his moral compass all along.
- There are folks smarter than me…just don’t know for sure which ones, so unfortunately, I have to do some of my own thinking.
The point is that I generally learn something new when I remember to listen and try to understand.
