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Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupid?

Can opinions be right or wrong?

  • Yes

    Votes: 9 64.3%

  • No

    Votes: 5 35.7%
  • Total voters
    14
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

The Resister said:
I have an observation along those lines.

There is an ongoing argument on this board wherein everybody has an opinion. If you don't swear allegiance to one side or another, whoever is addressing you will swear you are an "apologist" or member of the opposing side. Because I refused to have an opinion one poster sunk to new lows by accusing me of "founding" and belonging to the Ku Klux Klan. Some people can sink to lows that are unbelievable.

So, regardless of what people say, you do not have a Right to your own opinion.

When an antifa crowd was in a march and they were armed, they were having their pictures taken, their car tag numbers recorded, etc. That was a link on this board. Then, on the other side of the coin, a week or so ago I'm watching tv and this guy is gathering information about protesters from the other side of that issue and posting their pictures and personal information all over the Internet.

I recall back only a few decades ago, when photographers wanted to use my picture for something that would be made public, they would ask for my permission and then get my signature allowing them to use it. It was during a time we respected a modicum of privacy. Today, unless you are in the majority, there are those who will denounce you for even having an opinion; lash out against you; post lies about you; use the Internet as a tool to harass and intimidate you. Then, once your boss, creditors, potential employers, friends and family are subjected to the lies and innuendo - along with the misrepresentations, you figure it out. You most assuredly do not have a right to your own opinion. You only have a right to agree with whoever is in power at the moment.
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I absolutely have a right to my opinion. If I don't voice my opinion, who is to say it's right or wrong or that I'm not entitled to it.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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Talking about the POTUS again?
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

I firmly believe you should do all of those things, and more perhaps. The only thing is, don't tell anybody you do those things.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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If you decide to brush your teeth before you put your contacts in because it's Thursday it make sense to call that a stupid thing to do because there is no sense to making that decision.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Go back to third grade and learn what an opinion is.
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"what an opinion is" is not on the 3rd Grade Curriculum of any School District in the United States... :roll:
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Bodhisattva said:
"what an opinion is" is not on the 3rd Grade Curriculum of any School District in the United States... :roll:
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It was in mine.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Bodhisattva said:
If you decide to brush your teeth before you put your contacts in because it's Thursday it make sense to call that a stupid thing to do because there is no sense to making that decision.
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There's no sense not to make that decision. It's arbitrary. What if I flipped a coin in order to decide? What if I just did it because I felt that way. There's no right reason to do one before the other. It's entirely a preference. A preference cannot be right or wrong.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

holbritter said:
Those are reasons, not opinions.
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You can have a reason for an opinion. For instance I like the color blue because it reminds me of this pretty girl I knew that had blue eyes. It doesn't matter why I like blue. It's still an opinion.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

JamesBY said:
If someone argues that opinions are value neutral or objectively neutral, we have a fallacy of confirmation bias.

All human knowledge is sociologically constructed, so it cannot be neutral free of value.
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An opinion is not knowledge. It is a preference. It's a personal feeling.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

WillyPete said:
Someone else can hold an opinion about your opinion, surely.

But that by itself wouldn't make either of us (or our opinions) right or wrong.
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If your "opinion" of my opinion is that it's stupid, then what you have isn't an opinion it's a logically inconsistent statement.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Go back to third grade and learn what an opinion is. Something with a concrete foundation is called a Logical Conclusion or an assertion. An opinion is a personal preference.



No, that wouldn't actually be an opinion at all. It would be an illogical conclusion or an assertion.
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An opinion is a judgment. It may or may not be based on anything concrete. It most assuredly is not a personal preference. I prefer to start on the left side of my face when I shave. I do so all the time. It's a preference. It isn't an opinion. It'd be an opinion only if I stated it as such - "In my opinion it's preferable to start on the left side of your face when you shave."
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Gaius46 said:
An opinion is a judgment. It may or may not be based on anything concrete. It most assuredly is not a personal preference. I prefer to start on the left side of my face when I shave. I do so all the time. It's a preference. It isn't an opinion. It'd be an opinion only if I stated it as such - "In my opinion it's preferable to start on the left side of your face when you shave."
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Wow! No. If you prefer to start on the left side of your face you do so because that's better in your judgment. It doesn't matter how you word it. The fact that you like doing it that way automatically makes it better in your opinion. Jesus.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
You can have a reason for an opinion. For instance I like the color blue because it reminds me of this pretty girl I knew that had blue eyes. It doesn't matter why I like blue. It's still an opinion.
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No. Liking the color blue is a preference. Thinking the color blue represents strength or happiness, is an opinion.

Opinions are something you can disagree with. Opinions are based on preferences.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

JamesBY If someone argues that opinions are value neutral or objectively neutral, we have a fallacy of confirmation bias.

All human knowledge is sociologically constructed, so it cannot be neutral free of value.

The Resister said:
Did you make that up?
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Thank you for realizing that my points are correct.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
An opinion is not knowledge. It is a preference. It's a personal feeling.
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Of course it is a reflection of knowledge. You can't have an opinion or a preference or a reason without human knowledge, which is based on sociological constructs.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

I think "weird" is better word for the examples given. But weird isn't necessarily a bad thing.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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Oh, no.

But, if you put the toilet paper on the dispenser going the wrong way, then you have to be certifiable.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Dittohead not! said:
Oh, no.

But, if you put the toilet paper on the dispenser going the wrong way, then you have to be certifiable.
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Just so long as you understand that the way I put the roll on is obviously the right way. ;)
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
If you decide to do something a certain way, and your decision has absolutely no meaningful effect on anybodies life whatsoever can we reasonably call that decision a stupid decision?

If I decide to eat an apple clockwise vs counterclockwise because it's after 2 pm would it makes sense for someone to call me an idiot for that decision?

If I decide to brush my teeth before I put my contacts in because it's Thursday does it make sense to call me Insane?

If I put my right shoe on before my left shoe because the Cubs won last night am I being unreasonable?
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It is my studied opinion that after the age of 50 it is extremely foolish and often painful to attempt to trim your fingernails without wearing your reading glasses, and that is a fact.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

holbritter said:
No. Liking the color blue is a preference. Thinking the color blue represents strength or happiness, is an opinion.
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Holy Crap Wow. No. Not at all. A preference is a judgement is an opinion. Thinking the color blue represents strength, would actually just be factually inaccurate depending on the context. Now if you said the color blue makes you feel strong or happy, that would be an opinion.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

Dittohead not! said:
But, if you put the toilet paper on the dispenser going the wrong way, then you have to be certifiable.
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Unless you have cats, then the wrong was is the only way to keep them from unraveling it.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Unless you have cats, then the wrong was is the only way to keep them from unraveling it.
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It's not my fault. You put the toilet paper on the roll the wrong way, and I was trying to fix it.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Holy Crap Wow. No. Not at all. A preference is a judgement is an opinion. Thinking the color blue represents strength, would actually just be factually inaccurate depending on the context. Now if you said the color blue makes you feel strong or happy, that would be an opinion.
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I stand by my statement. You have it backwards. Again, you can argue an opinion. It's done everywhere on this board. We are doing it right now. If the color blue makes me feel strong or happy, how can it be an opinion? An opinion is thought, not feeling. Thinking the color blue represents strength is a thought which can be argued. It's an opinion.

How can I argue against a "feeling" you have? I can't. It's your personal feeling....could be you can't even explain why you feel that way. How is that then an opinion?

An opinion can be based on a personal preference, but there is a difference between the two.
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

nota bene said:
Just so long as you understand that the way I put the roll on is obviously the right way. ;)
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Good example! The way you put it on is a preference. Thinking it's the right way is an opinion.

I prefer the put it "over" vs "under". I'm of the opinion that it's the only correct way. :)
 
Re: Can an opinion that has no measurable effect on anyone's life be considered stupi

MrWonka said:
Wow! No. If you prefer to start on the left side of your face you do so because that's better in your judgment. It doesn't matter how you word it. The fact that you like doing it that way automatically makes it better in your opinion. Jesus.
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Preferences and opinions are not the same thing. At best you can say all preferences are opinions but not all opinions are preferences "In my opinion it will rain tomorrow" clearly doesn't state a preference.

I agree with you that preferences, being value judgments, are ultimately opinions, but in common everyday English I don't use the word "opinion" to think of my preferences. I use it as a statement - to other people - of a preference.
 
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