A true sign of intelligence...

Dear James, Daniel and Emily

My Grandmother Ruch used to say (and I paraphrase) "A true sign of intelligence is the ability to see 2 conflicting arguments at the same time." And I agree with her. It's about how having an open mind. I have a little knick knack on my desk here at work which has the following phrase on it: "a mind once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

Both quotes point to the same basic concept: keep an open mind, listen to what the other people are saying. This election is a perfect example of this. The election is in danger of people making up their mind on certain points, and closing their minds as a result. Refusing to listen to what the other person says.

I have been pretty open in my support of Obama, or at least in my opposition to the Republican candidate pretty much the entire year now. But recently I have tried to wade my way through what exactly the McCain campaign is offering just so I know what is there. And I think that is crucial to pretty much everything in life, take the time to listen to someone that you may disagree with, because they might have some good points.

I spend a good portion of my free time each day here at work involved in political discussions on a Forum site. And if someone were to go back through all of my posts at that site for the past 7 years I would feel safe to say that a good chunk of what I said on there 7 years ago is different and opposed to what I write now. And that is a good thing in my opinion. Because it displays my open mind and willing to embrace new ideas and realize when a position I have taken is incorrect.

However, there are some people I know who have decided how they will approach things, and refuse to open their minds to the possibility that they are wrong. And as a result I think they stop learning and stagnate.

I think the main point of this is that you need to keep an open mind, keep learning, and never close your mind to an opposing point of view. If for no other reason then it makes it that much easier to refute that view or opinion when you know where it is coming from and what it's foundations are.