The Merits of Open-mindedness

'd': “why don't you prove your openminded by agreeing with me?”

!t!: “because you're wrong.”

'd': “see! there you go again!”

(totally underscored in only one sentence in the video.)

Openmindedness is overrated. As stated in the video, it can be a liability, and with a relaxed or negligent “evidence filter” a person can be convinced of anything. (“Evidence filter” was a great diagram.)

Instead, I like to rely on perceptions of observations. When someone says “x”, I like to see it, or I don't care if I see it.

(In the TV series Bones, there are two characters that are really refreshing in this respect, one more than the other. It seems that they cannot base any beliefs on what they cannot percieve.)

Lastly, consider the source. If someone says you need to be openminded, it's a sign of two things; you may be close minded, or, more likely the opposing person is getting frustrated and is deciding to make personal attacks that are going to rapidly veer off the subject matter. At this point, expect “Semantics Games” and other childish discussion tactics.

Thanks Daniel and Iceypro for the link. I enjoyed it.

-=T=-

ps: can a person believe in ghosts and conclude it's the evidence and still be open minded? I had that problem while watching the early part of the video.

It seems the older that we get, the more close minded we must be. I had my niece convinced in vampires up until she was in her early 20's. After that, I'm sure she's matured to the point where she is now more close minded to the option. Santa Claus, gone for most of us by age 6 or 7. Our evidence verification process becomes more strictly realistic the older we get, the more refined it must become to match what our internal model of the external world reflects.

It seems incredibly limiting.

That was a pretty good video, even though it's portrayal was one-sided (atheist vs. theist.) It also highlights two important points that “logical thinkers” often get wrong. First, it is not illogical to believe what has not been scientifically proven. Indeed, the idea that “I can only believe what has been tested” is demonstrably false because that statement itself has not been tested, and cannot be tested. It is also impractical like in the encounter in the video. If someone says they had a great day at the beach, we can reasonably believe it with great certainty without testing that assertion based on various factors.
I've got to, and will post more later.