You are probably on this page because because I sent the link to you. This means that I care about you and we likely have different worldviews and areas of interest/expertise. For over 5,000 days I have had an intense interest in a very abnormal fields of knowledge and study. Combined with almost 50 years of living life, this has led me to an ever-evolving worldview that is very different than 99% of people who have had different interests over the years. Some of the areas of interest that I know more about than the next 99 random people (These people include attorneys, plumbers, university presidents, janitors, poor people, wealthy people, doctors, politicians, newscasters …) include:
- Moral Philosophy
- Logic & Reason, faulty reasoning, how to argue, etc…
- Social Science, collectivism -v- individualism, etc…
- Persuasion, propaganda, crowd psychology, NLP, molding of public opinion, etc…
- Scientific Method
- Truth behind Central Banking and the Prussian schooling systems
- Economics
- Probability, coincidence etc…
- Small business development
- The nature of government; regulation, war, etc…
- The formula used by many false conspiracy theory entertainers
If you had studied similar fields in an intelligent and rational manner, I would have noticed and I would have linked you to a different page. 😉 Because of the nature of our conversation, I can tell that your focus and therefore expertise is likely in very different areas than mine.
I am not necessarily “better than you” or “smarter than you.” These are subjective things, and not what I am chatting about. You might be better at designing a skyscraper, washing dishes, developing electric cars, replacing hearts, running bureaucratic organizations, running companies or other things. You probably know more about sportsball, political scandals, the scary thing of the moment that The P’s say is threatening our great nation, etc.
If individuals like you and me really have an interest in arguing with an expert about something, we should also acquire some expertise in those areas. Having said this, I do not expect you to become an expert in my areas. I have certainly not become an expert in my plumber’s areas. I do recognize, however, that when I suggest using Super Glue to connect schedule 80 PVC conduit, my plumber will understandably hesitate to invest time or energy trying to argue something they grew weary of arguing about with similarly ignorant people many many years ago. They know that there are 30 things about adhesives and plastics that I don’t know, so it is difficult to even begin without first asking me to read six books.*
I have had certain arguments hundreds of times, and have learned not to waste my effort on people who are not seeking to learn new things. Most of my arguments are based on five to 50 books or lectures I have completed, and if you have not exposed yourself to the things that I have experienced, it is not of any use for me to bring these higher level concepts into our relationship. The same is true of you in your areas of expertise. Neither of us should expect the other to spend hundreds of hours studying.
So, if you want to continue our discussion; I am thrilled!!! My greatest joy in life is learning, especially when it helps me discover areas in which I am wrong. I absolutely love honing my thinking, and I love polite, rigorous and friendly arguments.
I am happy to mentor you as you enter the areas of study in which I have over a decade’s experience. I am not among the smartest hundred people in the world in any of the individual areas I listed above. If, however, we build a Venn Diagram of them all; well, I kinda know a bit. If you do NOT want me to mentor you because you find my tone to be condescending, I understand. 999 of a thousand of our other neighbors agree with you completely. 😉
If you insist on trying to persuade me about something, I will happily continue to engage with you as long as you do not use logical fallacies or otherwise violate rules of logic and reason. Some beginning resources to help you prepare:
- Consider what your top five personal values are, I compiled this list that might help.
- Logically Fallacious: The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies (Academic Edition Book)
- Before arguing religion/spirituality with me, spend two hours with an open mind on this site.
- I will happily recommend many dozens of other books, lectures and discussions that I have benefitted from reading, just please ask! 🙂
It took me many days to this worldview, and yes, I could absolutely be wrong. Please show me, using logic, reason and intellectual honesty, high quality proof and evidence, why I should update my worldviews.
*Yes electricians, I know. 😉