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How open/closed minded are you?

B

bkim

Apr 28, 2006
329
1
Sacramento, CA
#1
This isn't really about open or closed minds its about how, why and when we change our minds on important matters

Reading the abortion thread, it seems that we are all for the most part set in our ways--

Have you ever changed your mind/POV on a controversial subject. lets say after the age of 21--adulthood in the states

It could be concerning: abortion, gun-control, conservative v. liberal, immigration, anything concerning an important controversial subject..

What was it, how old were you and what made you change your mind?

I can't think of any for myself right now but I will think of something
 
#5
I'm pretty open minded when it comes to eating, I'm willing to try new food, most of the time, they are good, sometimes they are not, but that's the fun of taking risks.
I'm pretty much open minded when it comes to opinions on how to do things and such, if someone suggests a way, I'll go with it even if I don't think it's right; and if it turns out to be horrible, I'll just give them a lecture on why my way was best... :smug:
 
#6
I used to consider myself a social liberal and a fiscal conservative. I was raised during the Nixon era and, like many others, the experience of growing up in the free-wheelin' '60s and '70s led me to a rather liberal mindset.

As I matured, I began to actually *think* about the positions I was espousing. Then, slowly but surely, I started to become more conservative in most areas of my thinking. Just because I found the positions more logical.

I think it probably goes back to a famous quote (can't remember who said it right now):

"If you aren't a Democrat when you're young, you have no heart; if you aren't a Republican when you get older, you have no brain."

I still like to believe that I'm open minded. I've rethought some positions based on discussion on this BBS. But, I haven't really changed any positions lately.
 
#8
I used to be dead set against -

* zero frets, and now I utilize them in nearly 100% of my builds

* Fender style basses, but now I love them

* Starbuck's coffee, but now it's my mainstay joe

* Ford vehicles, but now I own nothing else

* being dead set for or against anything, but now I see that there are both absolutes and grey areas on many issues and topics


I'm sure there are other things as well

R
 
#12
Some of the best advice, was something i read on Talkbass.

I forget who, but it was genius. He said,

"Don't be so open-minded that your brains fall out."

I laughed, cause I thought it was stupid. And then I realized how incredible that is. It's Genius!
 
#13
Their are three political issues that I've changed my opinion on in the last couple of years, all of them due to dialog on TB:

Civil Unions: I now support them in principle

Gay Marriage: I use to be firmly against, then I was for, now I'm leaning back to against. Someone needs to convince me on this one.

Global Warming and it's human causation: I use to believe in it, but due to the disingenuousness and close-mindedness of many of it's adherents, and their insistence that any evidence to the contrary be censored or ignored, I've come to believe it's the greatest scam since the Albanian Ponzi scheme.
 
#16
I believe in "stand for something or you'll fall for anything."

Most of the "open minded" people I know are open-minded because they don't want to make a decision or they want to be liked. So they flip flop back and forth.

Also, I have NEVER met someone who changed their mind about something they felt strongly about. It's useless to argue politics or religion, plus you shouldn't mess with someone's beliefs. Their beliefs make up who they are, and I think we should grant people the right to be who they are.

The only way people's minds get changed is if they change them of their own volition due to an experience they had. You can change your own mind, but you can't change someone else's.

The only time you can change someone else's mind is if the information they have is actually false, and can be proved. BUT you have to provide the true data after you prove theirs to be false.

I'm set in my opinions except for things I lack data about. Then I'm open to receiving data to which i will then make a decision.
 
#17
i think open-minded doesn't necessarily mean you flip flop between things.

i would say being open-minded means you can respect other people's ideas and don't always need to try to convince them that you are right.

Being open-minded also means to me that you are able to change your opinion if you are given facts that prove your former stand to be wrong.

If this is the case then i'm am open-minded.
 
#18
I've got a lot opinions. Not all of them fall in line with the status quo. I'm a pretty passionate guy and I stand by my opinions, but sometimes, someone comes along and blows my mind. It could be anyone really. I'm a firm beleiver that you have to know how to express yourself, and stand up for yourself, but at the same time you have to listen, I mean really listen too. Recently my opinions about marriage and what it encompasses has been changed. Blown wide open, and I can only thank my wife for that. I've come to realize that marriage is a living breathing thing that evolves and grows with you, if it suffocates you, you're doing it wrong.
 
#19
I changed my views on capital punishment maybe 15 years ago. I'm for it now. I switched loyalty from Chevy to Ford about 35 years ago, although I haven't bought an American car since 1971. (That's right, I switched American brands after I quit buying them. Mostly for NASCAR purposes.) I switched from Honda to Toyota about 20 years ago, and tried a few Mercedes in the interim. Toyota includes Lexus.

As far as changing philosophical positions, I would lose all self-respect if my mind could not be changed by a rational argument.
 
#20
Many supposedly "open-minded" people are really just non thinkers. Translation, they are sheep, they believe what they are told to think, never really investigating or exploring other options. It's amazing how many of these type people exist. One of the hallmarks of these types is they refuse to be challenged, get all their information from one side of an issue. The sad thing is how many of these people think their receiving a "balanced" world view. Sorry, such a world view is a figment of the imagination. Everyone has biases, and every one loves to have those biases reinforced. I'm on the road in sales, so I read a lot, one of my goals in the last few years has been to read material that takes an opposing view point. I find it challenging, and it forces me to examine why I believe the things I believe. Sadly most folks don't have a clue why they believe anything. I'm not "open-minded" but I am open to and welcome a well thought out opposing point of view.
 

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