What are you wrong about?

[Lorizael]

I'm certain you're wrong about not being wrong. I'm not saying you should switch back to being a fascist, mind you. Just that you should be open to the possibility of being wrong about things. Like, I think you've learned the wrong lesson here, Giancarlo. And believe me, I know about learning the wrong ****ing lessons.

Like, it seems you hate your past self. And your past self was wrong about things. This makes you terrified of being wrong, because being wrong is like being who you were when you hated yourself, and you don't want to be who you were when you hated yourself. But maybe it's possible that your past self wasn't bad because he was wrong, but because he was strident or quick to anger or... whatever... I'm sure you know your past self better than I do. The point is, humans are fallible and are going to **** things up. It's just the way the world works. So hating yourself for being wrong just means hating yourself, period, and that is not ****ing healthy. Take it from someone who has an appointment with his therapist in 3 hours.

[Thoth]

I thought I was mistaken once.

But I was wrong.

[Giancarlo]

I'm certain you're wrong about not being wrong. I'm not saying you should switch back to being a fascist, mind you. Just that you should be open to the possibility of being wrong about things. Like, I think you've learned the wrong lesson here, Giancarlo. And believe me, I know about learning the wrong ****ing lessons.

Like, it seems you hate your past self. And your past self was wrong about things. This makes you terrified of being wrong, because being wrong is like being who you were when you hated yourself, and you don't want to be who you were when you hated yourself. But maybe it's possible that your past self wasn't bad because he was wrong, but because he was strident or quick to anger or... whatever... I'm sure you know your past self better than I do. The point is, humans are fallible and are going to **** things up. It's just the way the world works. So hating yourself for being wrong just means hating yourself, period, and that is not ****ing healthy. Take it from someone who has an appointment with his therapist in 3 hours.

No. I am fine the way I am.

Your second paragraph doesn't apply to me because I am not you. Don't be prescribing statements on me.

[Lorizael]

My second paragraph doesn't apply to me. I'm certainly terrified of something because of ****ty lessons I've learned, and I definitely hate my past self, but fear of being wrong doesn't play into any of it.

[Giancarlo]

You made some presumptive and inaccurate statements about me. There is no far of being wrong. I said enough. You are way off the mark saying my past self wasn't wrong. You don't know me.

[Lorizael]

You are way off the mark saying my past self wasn't wrong.

This is not, in fact, what I said. I said your past self being wrong wasn't necessarily the issue with your past self.

[Giancarlo]

This is not, in fact, what I said. I said your past self being wrong wasn't necessarily the issue with your past self.

I'm saying it is.

[Lorizael]

I know. My point is I don't think that's necessarily a good perspective, because being wrong is natural and inevitable. We are all wrong about stuff all the time, so we should focus more on how we deal with being wrong than in preventing ourselves from ever being wrong. If you focus on the latter, that can lead you down the cognitively smoother path of simply believing you're never wrong, which is much easier to achieve than never actually being wrong.

[Giancarlo]

I already recognized I was wrong in the past and I fixed that. On the same note I know I'm not perfect right now. I'm not Mr. Right All The Time. I know I have flaws.

And I know I may be wrong about a few things right now, but that is offset by the fact that I'm living truthfully and with honesty.

I have only a few regrets in life. I can't fester around thinking about what I could be doing wrong because if I did it would prove to be a distraction. If something comes up, I'll admit full responsibility for it and learn from mistakes.

[Aeson]

I have a deep and abiding belief in the inherent goodness of people. I've chosen to hold this wrong belief for utilitarian reasons, and know intellectually that it is not a correct assessment of many persons.

[OneFootInTheGrave]

In practical terms, we can in principle look back and say, we were wrong about x,y,z, but right now we are not aware of particulars where we hold a "wrong" belief. Going from A to B (changing belief) is a process, not an instance (unless you are Trump off course ).

[Elok]

Going to actually respond to the OP since I like Lori and stuff.

Most obviously, there's my religion; I have no way of knowing whether it is true or false in the sense of God existing, etc. I continue in it regardless because I have found it to be overwhelmingly correct in ways relevant to my life--i.e. I find it has a good deal of interest to say about human nature, how it has gone wrong, and the right ways to fix it. Orthodoxy has been called "the science of salvation," and while I think that's overselling it, there is that practical goal-orientedness behind the mysticism. It has worked, so I will put myself in obedience to it, accepting that some parts are going to be off and nothing in it is going to be perfect.

I find myself gradually--very gradually--moving away from the borderline-despondent cynicism and fatalism that marked my youth. It's very slow, since I don't know how to be anything else but passive and disgusted, but it is clearly taking place, especially since I became a dad. I get little glimpses of how to believe in hope, or in positive action, but it's like a story that takes time to tell.

[Jon Miller]

I was wrong about the death penalty. While I still believe it's a deterrent, I don't believe it can be administered without bias, so I don't support it anymore.

This.

I have also changed my position in regards to war (I no longer think it can be used as a common real politic tool) and many other positions.

JM

[Lorizael]

I find myself gradually--very gradually--moving away from the borderline-despondent cynicism and fatalism that marked my youth.

I am mixed about this. I no longer think such a perspective is useful, but I still think it's largely true. The world is ugly and brutal--but only from a certain point of view. That view may even be valid, but it's not the only one possible, and it's one that doesn't lead anywhere good if you're stuck inside of it.

[kentonio]

But now I know I'm not wrong at all.

*sigh*