

Ask HN: Do you tend to think you are right? - andrewstuart

In <i>any</i> given situation, do you have a tendency to think that your opinion is right?  Or are you wary of yourself, do you think "I don't trust my instincts, I might be wrong".  Do you often change your mind based on what others say to you?
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mgkimsal
I don't react the same way in _any_ situation. In situations where I know I'm
an expert, I trust my instincts. In areas where I'm not expert - perhaps just
a novice, I tend to change my mind based on what others may say or things I
learn/research on my own.

Isn't that how everyone does it?

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andrewstuart
I suspect many people think they are right - all the time, about everything -
very hard to get the to change their minds. Do you have a
partner/wife/husband? Do you tend to think you are right in relation to
discussion that you have with them, or are you constantly open to change of
mind?

~~~
mgkimsal
Married, yes. My wife's changed my mind on some things, sometimes easily,
sometimes not, and sometimes I don't budge. Again... if it's something I know
a lot about, I tend to think I'm right (and usually am), but sometimes I'm
wrong, and I adjust.

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pjscott
My certainty about things varies all over the place. Everybody's does.

However: no matter how right I think I am about something, I can almost always
dispassionately consider a counterargument. And when that happens, the only
way to lose the argument is to start out wrong and stay wrong. Being right to
begin with: victory! Being wrong initially, but then changing your mind to
become right: victory! You can win an argument by "losing" it. This makes
changing my mind pretty much painless, which is nice. It's definitely easier
than tying my ego to my supposed inerrancy.

This state of mind took a lot of practice over the course of several years to
achieve, and I'm still far from perfect here, but it's definitely worth the
trouble.

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petercooper
One major difference between the 20 year old me and the almost-30 year old me
is that I used to assume everyone else was more experienced and more
knowledgable. Truth is, they usually were!

But now, I've seen significant character flaws in the most seemingly confident
of people. I know how fragile, stubborn, and downright _wrong_ people can be.
Even en masse. So while I still second guess myself, I now have the confidence
to forge ahead with something that _feels right to me_ knowing that I'm not
_necessarily_ wrong.

~~~
andrewstuart
I'm the inverse. The young me was overly confident and thought I was right
about most things. The older I get, the more willing I am to accept I might be
wrong about just about anything.

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JonathanWCurd
I usually go into things having thought them through and after doing research
so I am usually pretty confident that I am right.

That being said, I am always open to other ideas and listening. If I am proven
wrong I am more than willing to accept that.

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us
I tend to be very objective rather than believe I'm right or wrong on any
given subject. In areas where I have strong expertise, I tend to be more
opinionated but I still retain the openness when discussing.

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Dnguyen
It's better to admit you're wrong and proven right than to admit you're right
and proven wrong. This is how I feel when someone tell me they found a bug in
my code.

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fractallyte
I'm ALWAYS right ;-)

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fractallyte
...and the downvote clearly demonstrates the fallacy in such a statement!

It's rather like the paradox in saying: 'I ALWAYS lie'...

