Hedley wrote:co-joe: a moment of perspective.
It would appear that your definition of an idiot is someone who doesn't agree with your opinions.
Problem is, I'll bet your opinions have changed. Your opinions when you were younger, and when you will be older, will indoubtably be different than they are now.
So, by your definition, you were an idiot when you were younger, and you will be an idiot when are are older.
But wait! Perhaps when you will be older, you will be wiser, and you will conclude that you are an idiot now.
Can someone please point out my flaws in the above reasoning or initial assumptions?
Wise words. One problem though. I am old, and my definition of an idiot, amongst other things, if you read clearly the post where I used that word, is someone who purposely destroys ressources. It has nothing to do with diverging opinions. My circle of friends and families are filled with people of diverging opinions. I meet intelligent people everyday with diverging opinions.
I also meet idiots with different opinions, and idiots with opinions identical to mine. If in some cases I meet people with diverging opinions, who I consider to be idiots, that does not mean that I consider all people with differing opinions to be idiots. Small, yet important nuance.
Also this case is a bit different. Suppose we are at your local lake xyz (insert name of your place of choice to fish) and we have a discussion on the type of boat that was anchored here yesterday. I say it's type A, you say it's type B. You would not consider me an idiot because we can not agree (and neither would I). However, if we met the owner of the boat and he told us that his boat is type B, and by-passers confirmed they saw it was a type B, yet I continued to explain to you why it was a type A and it couldn't be a type B, then, after a while, you would consider me an idiot. Your judgement would not be based on my diverging opinion, but rather on the way I reasoned.
Finally remember that this is not about opinions. It's about facts. It's about real consequences affecting all of us. It's about our planet and our species. When a human mind can not make the difference between fact and belief, when a human mind is incapable of correctly weighing all the evidence available and analyzing the pros and the cons, then that human mind is not working properly. If you choose to grasp one piece of information yet you do not take into account all the other pieces of informations staring you right in the face, what does that tell you about the person's mental capacity?
Does that make a little more sense to you?
PS: there is another member on these forums called co-joe. I am corporate joe. Again, small difference, but important nuance. Furthermore, I am sure he would like to be kept out of this.