maycocksean
Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
I found this really interesting and appropriate for those of us who engage in debate here in FYM.
In the TIME Magazine cover article on the "100 Most Influential People" Malcolm Gladwell said this about Steven Levitt, the author of Freakanomics. They were having a public debate and "it was a straightforward back and forth. Levitt got up and made his case. I got up and made mine. But halfway through I glanced over at Levitt and had a realization I'm not sure I've ever had before with an intellectual opponent--that if I made my case persuasively enough and cogently enough, he would change his mind. He was, in other words, listening."
Gladwell goes on to write:
"This is not a great moment for listeners in American society. The public conversation is dominated by those whose minds are unalterably made up, and we have come to view the man or woman whose views remain steadfast, even in the face of overwhelmingly evidentiary assault, as a kind of moral hero. These people are not heroes, of course. They're usually just stubborn."
Personally, I hope to be like Steven Levitt, a guy whose willing to listen and if necessary, change his mind.
In the TIME Magazine cover article on the "100 Most Influential People" Malcolm Gladwell said this about Steven Levitt, the author of Freakanomics. They were having a public debate and "it was a straightforward back and forth. Levitt got up and made his case. I got up and made mine. But halfway through I glanced over at Levitt and had a realization I'm not sure I've ever had before with an intellectual opponent--that if I made my case persuasively enough and cogently enough, he would change his mind. He was, in other words, listening."
Gladwell goes on to write:
"This is not a great moment for listeners in American society. The public conversation is dominated by those whose minds are unalterably made up, and we have come to view the man or woman whose views remain steadfast, even in the face of overwhelmingly evidentiary assault, as a kind of moral hero. These people are not heroes, of course. They're usually just stubborn."
Personally, I hope to be like Steven Levitt, a guy whose willing to listen and if necessary, change his mind.