Why It's Worth Listening To People You Disagree With
Why it's worth listening to people you disagree with.
https://www.ted.com/talks/zachary_r_wood_why_it_s_worth_listening_to_people_we_disagree_with
Zachary R. Wood spoke about the advantages of listening to opposing views and learning from them. He has been subject to racism and elitism and still believes that there is something to learn from those views. He spoke about his upbringing and how it shaped who he had to be then and who he is now. His mother taught him to look at both sides because life is "complex, controversial and forever changing."
Here are my thoughts on his talk and there's a lot to agree with.
Life is complex. Issues that people consider black and white usually have a lot of gray in them. It's easy to pigeonhole those you disagree with, but it's hard to try to understand the issue from their viewpoint.
Life is controversial. From abortion, nuclear disarmament, violence and/or nudity on television and interfaith marriage, to politics, religion and world economics. These are just a few subjects that opinions will not only differ on but can bring about war. These days many people use social media to argue their opinions. In many cases it's about politics. Personal data mining has quite often tried to give people the views they already agree with. Otherwise known as living in an echo chamber. So many people only hearing what they already believe to be true and never taking into consideration a dissenting opinion. It stifles our ability to learn and adapt.
Which brings up how Life is forever changing. Opposing viewpoints give us the chance to hone, shape and adapt our own opinions...and in some cases to change them. In the scientific community, if new information is presented that proves an old viewpoint to be wrong, then the new information is thoroughly tested and the theory takes in the new information. Opinions these days try to stifle that from happening. Often times the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and yet most people seem to prefer being "right", rather than correct.
Take a moment to listen to someone you don't agree with and try to understand why their opinion differs so much from yours. It doesn't have to change your mind for you to learn something new about how people think.
https://www.ted.com/talks/zachary_r_wood_why_it_s_worth_listening_to_people_we_disagree_with
Zachary R. Wood spoke about the advantages of listening to opposing views and learning from them. He has been subject to racism and elitism and still believes that there is something to learn from those views. He spoke about his upbringing and how it shaped who he had to be then and who he is now. His mother taught him to look at both sides because life is "complex, controversial and forever changing."
Here are my thoughts on his talk and there's a lot to agree with.
Life is complex. Issues that people consider black and white usually have a lot of gray in them. It's easy to pigeonhole those you disagree with, but it's hard to try to understand the issue from their viewpoint.
Life is controversial. From abortion, nuclear disarmament, violence and/or nudity on television and interfaith marriage, to politics, religion and world economics. These are just a few subjects that opinions will not only differ on but can bring about war. These days many people use social media to argue their opinions. In many cases it's about politics. Personal data mining has quite often tried to give people the views they already agree with. Otherwise known as living in an echo chamber. So many people only hearing what they already believe to be true and never taking into consideration a dissenting opinion. It stifles our ability to learn and adapt.
Which brings up how Life is forever changing. Opposing viewpoints give us the chance to hone, shape and adapt our own opinions...and in some cases to change them. In the scientific community, if new information is presented that proves an old viewpoint to be wrong, then the new information is thoroughly tested and the theory takes in the new information. Opinions these days try to stifle that from happening. Often times the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and yet most people seem to prefer being "right", rather than correct.
Take a moment to listen to someone you don't agree with and try to understand why their opinion differs so much from yours. It doesn't have to change your mind for you to learn something new about how people think.
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