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How to Avoid Foolish Opinions
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To avoid the various foolish opinions to which mankind is prone,
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no superhuman genius is required.
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A few simple rules will keep you,
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not from all error,
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but from silly error.
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If the matter is one that can be settled by observation,
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make the observation yourself.
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Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking
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that women have fewer teeth than men,
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by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle
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to keep her mouth open while he counted.
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He did not do so because he thought he knew.
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Thinking that you know
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when in fact you don’t is a fatal mistake,
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to which we are all prone.
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Many matters, however,
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are less easily brought to the test of experience.
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If, like most of mankind,
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you have convictions on many such matters,
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there are ways in which
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you can make yourself aware of your own bias.
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If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry,
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that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware
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of having no good reason for thinking as you do.
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If someone maintains that two and two are five,
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you feel pity rather than anger.
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The most savage controversies are those about matters
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as to which there is no good evidence either way.
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Persecution is used in theology, not in arithmetic,
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because in arithmetic there is knowledge,
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but in theology there is only opinion.
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So whenever you find yourself getting angry
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about a difference of opinion,
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be on your guard; you will probably find,
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on examination,
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that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants.
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A good way of riding yourself of certain kinds of dogmatism
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is to become aware of opinions held in social circles different from your own.
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Seek out people with whom you disagree,
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and read a newspaper belonging to a party that is not yours.
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If the people and the newspaper seem mad and wicked,
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remind yourself that you seem so to them.
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In this opinion both parties may be right,
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but they cannot both be wrong.
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This reflection should generate caution.