Ranting a Bit- Conventional Wisdom

I hate arguing.

Arguing, to me, is when you debate topics without facts or substantiation for ones point. But I have come to realize that people do alot of arguing, rather than discussing things intelligently. That bothers me...

For one, I hate for anyone to tell me that my opinion is wrong. Opinions cannot be wrong. However, they could be based on misinterpretation of facts. But no ones opinio can be proven wrong. So when I meet people who ask my opinion, and then say that my opinion is wrong simply because they don't agree with it, then to me, it is grounds for debate. But once a debate begins, and the other party has no factual basis to back it up, then it turns into arguing, and that is when there is no winner except the person who can piss the other person off quickest.

I discussed opinion with a lady in my life and she tends to think that one can debate an opinion without having facts to back his or her views. That bothers me. You can discuss them, but if you are going to debate someone elses opinion and you have nothing on which to stand, then you are just running to a gun fight without a weapon. But I have also noticed that the powers that be count on this...they count on us to form opinions and persuade others to do the same, without knowing the facts. That is how Bush got back in office (in my opinion).

Let me stop with my digression.

On the topic of debate, my best friend and I were taught and trained to debate using ceretain methods, one of which is the use of logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are ways of breaking down an argument based on an inappropriate preponderance of the facts. In other words, if you develop an opinion, but it is based on errored facts, then that is to be discussed. Well, my lady friend kinda got snappy about the fact that I use this method to dissect arguments thrown at me. She says that what I see as a method of debate could be for others conventional wisdom. This may be true, and it was conventional wisdom for me as well. But once I was trained to use my conventional wisdom properly, it no longer allows for inappropriate discussion of the facts.

It's like playing basketball. There are plenty of people out there who can play basketball, and are good at it. That is because they have conventional wisdom (natural talent). But will they ever go pro...probably not, unless they are coached and trained on how to use their raw talent. And when they try to play against the coached teams, they are outmatched...

Conventional wisdom without adequate training is like a boat without a rudder...it will move, and it will float, but it will have no direction.

I am finished ranting...just needed to vent a little bit.