Oddbean new post about login | logout We'd like to think that when we're neutral it's the result of wisdom and humility. But if we're honest, much of the time, neutrality is really the result of cowardice and laziness.
Isn’t that just a metric of how confident you are about doing nothing?
I mean, maybe we simply cannot be neutral because we’re conscious and constantly observing and being observed by other conscious beings… you’re a datum in some respects for a reference to neutral but your actual relation to neutrality is subjective pretty tough to get away from that, leaving inaction as a requirement to persevere a “neutral” status. Then you get worried about bias… dammit man, I’m not a wire with a uniform potential of zero!
Amen to that
Might add stupidity to the list as well. With all the false prophets out there, one has to be open minded to ideas that don't agree with one's belief system. Good example of this is how historically, we've all been conditioned to think the Federal Reserve and the 16th amendment was done to benefit the American people. Most people just want to take the blue pill. Up until 2008, I was one of those stupid people. The answer is education for those willing.
And a related thought from Hemingway, "...that is the great fallacy: the wisdom of old men. They do not grow wise. They grow careful."