best retort to "you're being closed minded"

[Thudlow_Boink]

“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
— G.K. Chesterton

@Qadgop_the_Mercotan

“By all means let’s be open-minded, but not so open-minded that our brains drop out.”
Richard Dawkins

Who originated this? I know I’ve seen this quote, or something very similar, in other contexts. I couldn’t find a definitive answer as to who said it first, but some of the people who have apparently said something like this include Jacob Needleman, Rebecca Pippert, and Judge Harry Stone.

But anyway, while I was trying to track this down, I ran across a really good answer to the OP’s question. The whole page is worth reading, but here’s the key sentence: “If you can’t accept the possibility that an idea might be false, then you are the closed minded one.”

@Chimera

It isn’t the same question, but I used to know a few people who would spew all sorts of nonsense and then when I questioned it or just plain didn’t believe them, would tell me that I needed to be more open minded.

My response was “I notice that every time you say that I should be more open minded, what you seem to be saying is that I should believe everything you say without reservation.”

I like.

[Uber_the_Goober]

@Shig

Beautiful!! Thank-you. I’m stealing every line of this. Case closed.

Careful. It sounds like you’re opening up yourself to endless stories about how so and so knows a guy who saw something this one time and it was strange so that is my proof!

[RaftPeople]

“You’re so closed minded”

response: “Am I?”

[Chimera]

@CookingWithGas

Wait. What the hell is an “orb” and what does it look like in a photo?

Obviously not The Orb, or an Orb.

[Cat_Whisperer]

Well, to each their own. You believe what you believe, and I’ll believe what I believe.

[LurkerInNJ]

@Shig

I’ve heard people say this before and am looking for a way to reply without sounding like an arrogant prick. Most recent example is from a girl I know who was talking about a picture her mom took of her before she went to a job interview in which there were “orbs” around or near her. These “orbs” were a good sign she said. Well upon disagreeing I was told that if I would be a little more open-minded than maybe I would believe in them. My only thought at that moment is to replace her adjective with something like “uneducated,” or “gullible,” or something else that will seem rude. I’m a bit offended at her calling me closed-minded though, since I am certainly not, I am just skeptical of rubbish. Suggestions?

Why did you feel the need to express your disagreement out loud in the first place? She liked the orbs and thought they were a good sign. She just wanted a little affirmation, that’s all. How is that harming you? You could have said something along the lines of “Wow, look at that!” without disclosing how you really feel. That’s what friends do when no harm is at stake but someones feelings are.

I have a friend who believes that when she finds a feather, it’s a sign from beyond, from her deceased husband to be exact. I think it’s a sign that there are birds in the vicinity or perhaps an escapee from a pillow or comforter. When she grabs a feather and announces that he sent her yet another sign that he is with her, I respond with “I can see how comforting that is to you” or something similar.

No need to burst someones happy bubble with a giant my beliefs are more factually supported than yours pin when someone just wants a little comfort.

[MichaelEmouse]

@LurkerInNJ

giant my beliefs are more factually supported than yours pin

Do they sell those?

[Crazyhorse]

@CookingWithGas

Wait. What the hell is an “orb” and what does it look like in a photo?

Orbs

@CookingWithGas

The way to respond to this is to know enough to explain what perfectly normal physical phenomenon is responsible for the thing that she is interpreting as some paranormal nonsense.

Explanation of perfectly normal physical phenomenon:

Orb artifacts are captured during low-light instances where the camera’s flash is used, such as at night or underwater – or where a bright light source is near the camera. The artifacts are especially common with compact or ultra-compact cameras, where the short distance between the lens and the built-in flash decreases the angle of light reflection to the lens, directly illuminating the aspect of the particles facing the lens and increasing the camera’s ability to capture the light reflected off normally sub-visible particles.

The result:

@The REAL Story from the Interwebs

are a recently new phenomenon that have been captured with the introduction of digital cameras in the 1990’s. They were first thought to be malfunctions by the camera makers but to this day the manufacturers claim these “orbs” to be microscopic particles floating in the air. Orbs have been accepted, certainly in the psychic community, as real evidence of spirit presences whereby they are supposed to represent the essence, or soul of a departed spirit.

[antonio107]

“Sure babe. I’ll believe whatever stupid crap you say if you’ll go out with me. And by ‘stupid crap’, I mean totally not stupid, interesting crap.”

I said that to a girl I liked who was really into astrology. We’re not dating.

[chacoguy]

"You seem to have a close-minded opinion of me ".

[Farmer_Jane]

Who says you have to be open to everything? I mean, you open your mind, so to speak, think about it, and shut the Stupid Idea door.

You could tell her that your mind has a bullshit screen, but that’s not very nice.

[elfkin477]

Tell her to forget orbs. One of your message board friend’s Mom photographed a fairy! And show her this as proof. (what it really is revealed in post #51 here) Make sure you act like you have a 100% expectation that you’ll be believed. Keep coming up with ridiculous things that you “believe” and eventually she’ll think you’re a flake and avoid you.

[Der_Trihs]

@CookingWithGas

Wait. What the hell is an “orb” and what does it look like in a photo?

@Chimera

Obviously not The Orb, or an Orb.

The Orbs of the Prophets?

[Imago]

@Chimera

My response was “I notice that every time you say that I should be more open minded, what you seem to be saying is that I should believe everything you say without reservation.”

That sounds like a perfect fit for this situation.

[Gukumatz]

“An open mind is like a fortress with its’ gates unbarred and its’ walls unguarded.” (Warhammer)

“Tact is the ability to tell a man he has an open mind when he has a hole in his head.”

[ITR_champion]

@Thudlow_Boink

“Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid.”
— G.K. Chesterton

That comes from Chesterton’s essay The Extraordinary Cabman, one of his greatest and one that everyone should take a couple minutes to read. It’s easier to appreciate what he’s saying if you look at the quote in context.

@Chesterton

I had been lunching in a little restaurant in Soho in company with three or four of my best friends. My best friends are all either bottomless sceptics or quite uncontrollable believers, so our discussion at luncheon turned upon the most ultimate and terrible ideas. And the whole argument worked out ultimately to this: that the question is whether a man can be certain of anything at all. I think he can be certain, for if (as I said to my friend, furiously brandishing an empty bottle) it is impossible intellectually to entertain certainty, what is this certainty which it is impossible to entertain? If I have never experienced such a thing as certainty I cannot even say that a thing is not certain. Similarly, if I have never experienced such a thing as green I cannot even say that my nose is not green. It may be as green as possible for all I know, if I have really no experience of greenness. So we shouted at each other and shook the room; because metaphysics is the only thoroughly emotional thing. And the difference between us was very deep, because it was a difference as to the object of the whole thing called broad-mindedness or the opening of the intellect. For my friend said that he opened his intellect as the sun opens the fans of a palm tree, opening for opening’s sake, opening infinitely for ever. But I said that I opened my intellect as I opened my mouth, in order to shut it again on something solid. I was doing it at the moment. And as I truly pointed out, it would look uncommonly silly if I went on opening my mouth infinitely, for ever and ever.

Another analogy that I like is a response to the hoary old “minds are like parachutes, they only function when open” cliche. In order to function, a parachute has to catch some air. If you opened a parachute in an airless environment (such as the moon) it wouldn’t function at all. Similarly, if you open your mind in an intellectual environment that’s devoid of anything worthwhile, you accomplish nothing.

[FairyChatMom]

Apparently my basement was overrun with orbs when we were putting up drywall. I took a couple of pictures a few hours after we finished sanding, and you could hardly see the work we’d done for all the orbs!! :rolleyes:

One of my sisters went on a haunted tour and shared her photos of orbs in the cemetery. yeah, whatever…

[Maastricht]

If you like her, you could just use that remark as a starting point to get to know her. What are orbs and what do they mean to her? Talk untill you come to some middle ground. Like: “I want to believe some good force watches out for me”. And then, if you like, you can share what your feelings are about that very common human sentiment.

[I_Know_Nothing]

No I’m not.

[Muffin]

It is futile to discuss open-mindedness with someone who believes in woo.