Ignorance Comes Into Its Own
There are things
that cannot be taught
in ten easy lessons;
they take years
of skull sweat.
This is treason in an age
when ignorance
has come into its own
and one man’s opinion
is as good as another’s.
The world is what it is—
and doesn’t forgive
ignorance.
excerpt from Glory Road by R. A. Heinlein
I had an email exchange with a friend touching upon this topic. He asserted that all opinion is of equal merit. One can pick and chose what to believe since none is proven. For him, proof is constitutive of a fact. Proven facts trump opinion in the hierarchy of credibility. I pointed out to him that very few matters are subject to proof, in the sense that one can prove that 2+2 = 4. If I am suffering, the opinion of a Doctor should hold more weight than what a random man on the street might have to say about my condition.
My friend however did not accede to this.
2 thoughts on “Ignorance Comes Into Its Own”
Everyone is entitled to an opinion and like the saying goes “Opinions are like %#* holes, we all have one”. I believe it is important to try and understand where one is coming from as we all have a back story and a reason for an opinion/belief… However when it comes down to all opinions being equal they are not.
The difference for me is where did your opinion come from and why do you believe it to be so. History teaches us you need exports with in any field for innovation or scientific development. Without exports that have “opinions” based on facts we are the blind leading the blind.
“The blind leading the blind” indeed. The opinions of a child are based upon what pleases the child at the time. Apparently that is unchanged for too many adults. This tendency seems to be driven by a deluge of opinions offered for consumption by media outlets, Facebook, etc.