February 2, 2009 60 Comments

Opinions Are Every Bit as Important

greenhead I was reading Peter Kim‘s reflections on his experience with someone complaining about his thoughts on Superbowl ads from 2006. The commenter made quite a negative statement in response to Kim’s opinions, and the takeaway from this from Peter was that he tried from that point on to stick to mostly facts. If I read his post right, I disagree.

Opinions matter a great deal. In the constant whitewater of information rushing over us at present, we are in a situation where triage is the norm, where we have to lean on trusted opinions for some of our non-essential information. Sometimes, just sometimes, it’s okay to rely on the opinion of someone else.

I can hear the cry of outrage. “Brogan says let others think for you,” is the headline I’d run, from my righteous philosophy blog. But that’s not exactly what I’m saying. I’m saying that there are times when I need to make up my own mind, but there are plenty of times where I’m willing to accept the work and thinking of others.

In things like SuperBowl ads, I’m sure Peter’s just as qualified as any of the rest of us to give opinions. I don’t have to agree, but I’m also thinking that assailing such opinions, and worse, deciding not to give my opinion because some knob knocked me on the knuckles for it, isn’t the next course of action.

If you’ve yet to catch on, 90+ percent of what I give you here is my opinion.

Has that hurt you?

Related posts:

  1. Two Important Speaking Tips
  2. Are You Important To Me
  3. Help Me With Your Opinions
  4. 20 Most Important Tools Ever

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  • http://adrielhampton.wordpress.com Adriel Hampton

    Bill Rice, right on! Great discussion here. Isn’t that what opinion produces, a discussion that leads to better-formulated thoughts and actions. As a student of rhetoric, dialectic is fine by me!
    (I do wish that less people believed hogwash presented as “fact.” Opinion is not the problem in the U.S.)

  • http://adrielhampton.wordpress.com Adriel Hampton

    Bill Rice, right on! Great discussion here. Isn’t that what opinion produces, a discussion that leads to better-formulated thoughts and actions. As a student of rhetoric, dialectic is fine by me!
    (I do wish that less people believed hogwash presented as “fact.” Opinion is not the problem in the U.S.)

  • http://www.GoalRevolution.com/business_blog/ Bill Tamminga

    First things first: I’m not trying to make anyone mad.

    But… I just got to read this post and almost everyone sounds like a follower. Did I really only count two people who disagreed – and then only slightly? What’s the phrase? Oh yeah, “like sheep to the slaughter”.

    Did anyone read Peter’s original post? He advocates citing facts and using common sense rather than just throwing something out there for the sake of filling space on a blog. He didn’t feel knowledgeable enough to write about commercials, so he didn’t do it. Sounds like good judgment to me.

    Again, not trying to make anyone mad, but come on guys. Don’t drink too much of the Kool-Aid.

  • http://www.GoalRevolution.com/business_blog/ Bill Tamminga

    First things first: I’m not trying to make anyone mad.

    But… I just got to read this post and almost everyone sounds like a follower. Did I really only count two people who disagreed – and then only slightly? What’s the phrase? Oh yeah, “like sheep to the slaughter”.

    Did anyone read Peter’s original post? He advocates citing facts and using common sense rather than just throwing something out there for the sake of filling space on a blog. He didn’t feel knowledgeable enough to write about commercials, so he didn’t do it. Sounds like good judgment to me.

    Again, not trying to make anyone mad, but come on guys. Don’t drink too much of the Kool-Aid.

  • http://www.terraandersen.com/blog Terra Andersen

    I think hearing/reading an array of opinions is wonderful, and imperative. Perhaps we won’t agree with everything we encounter, but it’s the ideal of taking a step outside of ourselves and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes that makes it okay.

    However, simply going along with other’s opinions based on who they are or what they do is no good. The day we stop reasoning and thinking for ourselves is the day we stop living. We all have different situations and life experiences that make up our opinions and why we think the way we do, and each one is relevant… no matter how far-fetched it may seem.

  • http://www.terraandersen.com/blog Terra Andersen

    I think hearing/reading an array of opinions is wonderful, and imperative. Perhaps we won’t agree with everything we encounter, but it’s the ideal of taking a step outside of ourselves and seeing the world through someone else’s eyes that makes it okay.

    However, simply going along with other’s opinions based on who they are or what they do is no good. The day we stop reasoning and thinking for ourselves is the day we stop living. We all have different situations and life experiences that make up our opinions and why we think the way we do, and each one is relevant… no matter how far-fetched it may seem.

  • http://billcammack.com/ Bill Cammack

    Interesting points, Chris. People are afraid to give opinions because that takes your blog from the OBjective to the SUBjective. All of a sudden, you have to stand or fall on what you actually think, which most people aren’t willing to do because they lack confidence in their own conclusions.

    This is why so many blogs only report what happened with blockquotes from the original post. It’s kind of like the television news. They want credit for bringing the information to the people, but they want to seem “neutral” to the topic.

    This is how we miss out on A LOT of good discussions.

  • http://billcammack.com Bill Cammack

    Interesting points, Chris. People are afraid to give opinions because that takes your blog from the OBjective to the SUBjective. All of a sudden, you have to stand or fall on what you actually think, which most people aren’t willing to do because they lack confidence in their own conclusions.

    This is why so many blogs only report what happened with blockquotes from the original post. It’s kind of like the television news. They want credit for bringing the information to the people, but they want to seem “neutral” to the topic.

    This is how we miss out on A LOT of good discussions.

  • http://www.mybestfriendtraining.com/training-an-older-dog.html Training An Older Dog

    I have to wonder…if we don't use whatever available means to express our opinions (websites, forums, comments, etc), aren't we just stifling our own voices and letting things be dictated by those who pipe up the loudest?

  • http://www.mybestfriendtraining.com/training-an-older-dog.html Training An Older Dog

    I have to wonder…if we don't use whatever available means to express our opinions (websites, forums, comments, etc), aren't we just stifling our own voices and letting things be dictated by those who pipe up the loudest?

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