What’s So Wrong With Being Wrong?
“Let’s agree to disagree” is a great saying and a good philosophy. But it can so often be used incorrectly. As long as your opinion is not hugely offensive to me, I have no problems ending a conversation in disagreement and still staying friends. It would take a lot to get me to not agree to disagree with you.
But that’s only when we’re talking about opinions. There are many times when I’m talking about facts with someone and they pull the “let’s agree to disagree” line in the end. No, I will not agree to disagree about facts. Facts can be found from reliable and trusted resources. Evidence can be presented. And in the end, one of us will be proven right. The other will be proven wrong.
And this is a good thing.
If someone says “studies show that X does Y” and someone else argues “no they don’t!”, then one person is right and the other is wrong. If someone says “country A has 70% income tax!” He is either right or wrong. Same thing if someone says “There are no transitional fossils”. Or, “The 2nd law of thermodynamics proves evolution is false”. The google is a great tool for discovering who is right and who is wrong in such cases. There are many reputable pages with the answers, and often with other sources cited for further verification of the facts. And each case has a very clear cut, non-ambiguous answer. There is no room to agree to disagree.
You can have an opinion that evolution is false, although it takes a lot of faith nowadays to believe that. But you can’t state wrong information about evolution and expect it to support your opinion. You are wrong if you think the 2nd law of thermodynamics disproves evolution.
You can have an opinion that chiropractors can cure the common cold. But you can’t state that scientific studies prove that chiropractics can cure the common cold. One is an opinion, the other is just a false statement that can be easily proven as wrong.
I don’t care which side I’m on. I don’t care if I’m the one proven wrong. I don’t care if you’re the one proven wrong. It’s a good thing either way. I try my hardest to admit when I’m proven wrong, but others don’t reciprocate. They weasel out in some way, with the overused “let’s agree to disagree” line, or maybe just laugh it off, “haha, we could talk about this all day.” I don’t get it.
Being proven wrong is great. It’s better than learning something completely new. Being proven wrong changes something you were mistaken on and didn’t know it. You can embrace it and learn from it. It often leads to you changing your thoughts on several other things. It’s like a chain of dominos is tipped over. It gives you a lot to go and think through and in the end come out better, smarter, and more prepared to defend your opinions.
Sure, it can do all those things and you don’t have to admit it. But that shows so poorly on you, especially if the debate wasn’t in private. Let others learn from your mistake. Admit your wrongness and make corrections.
If someone is proven wrong, they admit it, and multiple people learn from it, then the conversation is so much more enjoyable. They’ll have more conversations like it and they’ll continue to expand their knowledge.
Don’t take the easy way out. Start shocking the internet with the words “I was wrong.” The times when I’ve out right admitted I was wrong I instantly won points with the people I was talking with.
(It’s also very beneficial to admit your opinions were wrong too, so don’t be afraid of that one either.)
Arguing on the Internet