--- In vpFREE@yahoogroups.com, "Harry Porter" <harry.porter@v...>
wrote:
rockofjello333 wrote:
> Well, in the last few days, I have been called a bigot, an idiot,
> several other things I didn't bother to recall; had my intelligence
> questioned, opinions flung my way re what type of person I am (not
> complimentary), etc. etc. All because I rendered an opinion that
> BTW, many of the acid-spitters misread and misconstrued.
Just an observation (which doesn't have direct bearing on your
comments in this particular post).That you should find yourself in the minority in views on a discussion
is no reason, in and of itself, to change your view. But when you
realize that you are in a minority, it's good cause to challenge your
own views and weigh them against the rationality of others.
Actually Harry, one of my most reliable litmus tests about whether a
given viewpoint is or will turn out to be "right" or "wrong" is that
if a majority of people profess to hold a given opinion, that is
ipso facto an indication that said opinion IS in fact, wrong.
Furthermore, the greater the proportion of persons that hold that
opinion (vis a vis the dissenters), the greater the chance that that
opinion is wrong. Witness: the earth is flat, the earth is the
center of the solar system, the heart is the center of the
intellect, tomatoes are poisonous, alchemy, and the belief that when
red comes up nine times running on the roulette wheel, that black
is "due". All viewpoints and beliefs--and I could make a much longer
list--thst were or still are held by a (sometimes vast) majority of
the population, and all flat-out WRONG.
So to adress your point directly, when I find a majority of people
disagreeing with my viewpoint on a controversial issue, I find that
rather comforting. The fact is, most people use intuition rather
than reason to solve problems, an attitude I blame directly on
organized religion and its millenium-old antirational,
antiscientific stance. Look at how many truths about the gambling
milieu are counterintuitive, for example, and how many people
therefore refuse to believe them--and keep on losing money.