# How sure are you that you (or your side) is right? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 16, 2018, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021 "2018-07-16T17:01:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/21 "2018-07-17T14:09:19Z")
Depends how you define “right”. I think my side does the most good for the most people. But I am very much centre-left, heavy on the centre, so I have other positions that may be considered controversial. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/22 "2018-07-17T14:46:54Z")
I believe I have the right values, and I think the policies I espouse are the best way to support those values. The specific policies are subject to factual correction. The values are philosophical, so not subject to factual correction. As an aside, I was recently on a jury and the judge spoke to each prospective juror individually. She asked (paraphrased) “Will you make a decision free of bias?” My reply: “I can try, but I am not always aware of my own biases.” We’re not always aware of our own biases in anything. It’s just that the stakes are very high sometimes, and other times they are not as high and more likely to have time to correct them based on incoming data. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/23 "2018-07-17T14:53:38Z")
Policies aren’t generally inherently right or wrong. (Except policies like legalizing slavery etc.) I believe my guiding principles and overall political philosophy are more coherent, beneficial and honest than the other side, and more coherent and honest than the thoughts of many who significantly overlap with me. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 2:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/24 "2018-07-17T14:57:04Z")
My views are extremely pragmatic. The only thing I’m ideological about is doing the least harm possible, and trying to help when able. The means to those ends are completely up for grabs and under constant reevaluation. I have no loyalty whatsoever to any particular politician or political philosophy. Most people would consider me liberal, and I usually vote that way because that is currently, I believe, the best way to achieve my aims. But the moment a better way comes along, I’ll go with that. I’m frankly baffled by the idea of allegiance to political sides, and especially to individual politicians. Even the politicians with whom I mostly agree have done things I abhor. So I think in terms of, “I like such-and-such’s policies for the most part, which is why I’m voting for him or her.” I could care less about them personally, will never wear their hat, will not donate a dime to any politician’s campaign. So, no. I’m not at all sure I’m right. I’m probably wrong a lot of the time. It’s a process. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/25 "2018-07-17T15:44:44Z")
How sure I am that the liberal side of things is _right_ depends on the particular issue. What I do know for certain is that the Republican Party has gone so far off the deep end that they’d have to fight their way back to some semblance of reality to be merely ‘wrong.’ ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/26 "2018-07-17T17:51:47Z")
I’m not wrong, I’m just an asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/27 "2018-07-17T18:00:27Z")
I believe in Social democracy. I know there are some risks and issues that anger some people: People who believe in Social hierarchies do not like the social egalitarianism. Social democracy raises the cost of doing business (new taxes, regulations, etc increase the cost of doing business). Social democracy angers libertarians. But I think these are all worth the risk. As far as business, we have to implement change in ways that do not overwhelm business. ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/28 "2018-07-17T18:21:59Z")
My side is a side of one. No one speaks for me and I speak for no one but myself. My opinions are based on fact and research that shows what outcomes are likely from what practices. I am also willing to reevaluate based on new research. I therefore chose the second option. ---
**Author:** ![iamthewalrus\_3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/258eb7/32.png) [@iamthewalrus\_3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamthewalrus_3)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/29 "2018-07-17T18:28:47Z")
It depends greatly on the issue. There are things that I believe very strongly to be correct, bordering on certainty. There are other issues where I think I’m probably right, but it wouldn’t take much evidence to convince me otherwise. There are issues that I’ve changed my mind on in the past, and I know that my understanding of them is nuanced and evolving. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/30 "2018-07-17T19:03:34Z")
My politics haven’t changed since I was old enough to have politics – I believe that was the McGovern campaign. Awhile ago. That is not to say there isn’t nuance. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2018, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/31 "2018-07-17T19:09:05Z")
I’m right. I don’t have a side and I don’t apply a hard and fast position on many issues that are too complex for that. I believe in the malleability of circumstances and the evolution of solutions. That is something that shows the brilliance of the US Constitution that so few fail to realize, and unfortunately the weakness of great concepts that depend on fallible and less than honorable people to implement. ---
**Author:** ![The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_wind_of_my_soul)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/32 "2018-07-18T12:22:49Z")
Not sure at all, and I hope to never be. I was 14 years old when a man at my Thanksgiving dinner told me that the wise man is the one least set in his views. At the time, I recoiled from the idea, but after I had time to roll the idea around in my head, I decided I agreed with it. The wisest man is the one who’s still looking for the truth, rather than looking for evidence to support his own truth. I read the book _Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error_ by Kathryn Schultz a few years ago, which did more to encourage me in the direction of uncertainty. It talked about how often we as human beings are wrong, and how hard it is to admit that we’re wrong, since we tend to feel ashamed when we’re wrong. But refusing to admit when our thoughts might need adjustment can lead people to become more and more absurd in their attempts to justify their beliefs. I’d rather change my mind than be absurd. More recently, I read the book _Superforecasting: The Art and Science of Prediction_ by Philip E. Tetlock. That book revealed that some people are unusually talented at predicting future events, and then looked at the personality traits that the superforecasters had in common. One of the key traits of those people was a willingness to change their minds as new facts came to light. The people who were least sure of themselves were closest to the truth. While political issues may be subjective, they are opinions formed based on our knowledge of the facts, and there are plenty of facts I don’t know. My mind is not made up. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/33 "2018-07-18T16:22:32Z")
> [@The\_wind\_of\_my\_soul](#): > > I was 14 years old when a man at my Thanksgiving dinner told me that the wise man is the one least set in his views. At the time, I recoiled from the idea, but after I had time to roll the idea around in my head, I decided I agreed with it. The wisest man is the one who’s still looking for the truth, rather than looking for evidence to support his own truth. Reminds me of how Socrates was supposedly the wisest man in Athens, not because he knew more, but because he didn’t claim to know what he didn’t know. ([I know that I know nothing - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_know_that_I_know_nothing)) Also the famous quote [apocryphally (mis-)attributed to Mark Twain](http://marktwainstudies.com/the-apocryphal-twain-things-we-know-that-just-aint-so/): “It ain’t what you don’t know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” Also the Dunning-Kruger effect, which suggests that certainty is a sign that you don’t know enough to know how little your certainty is justified. > [@](#): > > I read the book _Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error_ by Kathryn Schultz a few years ago, which did more to encourage me in the direction of uncertainty. It talked about how often we as human beings are wrong, and how hard it is to admit that we’re wrong, since we tend to feel ashamed when we’re wrong. But refusing to admit when our thoughts might need adjustment can lead people to become more and more absurd in their attempts to justify their beliefs. I’d rather change my mind than be absurd. Good book! Anyone who wants a taste can watch her [TED talk](https://www.ted.com/talks/kathryn_schulz_on_being_wrong). ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/34 "2018-07-18T16:37:48Z")
> [@kopek](#): > > Convinced. Beyond any shadow of a doubt that neither of the two Parties really cares about anything other than staying in power at the expense of the average citizen. Both have sold their souls and the best we can hope for are crumbs here and there. That being said, one tends to make more crumbs than the other. This. But with the caveat that I think a significant number of politicians go in with good intentions. But eventually, the political machine eats them up. ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2018, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/35 "2018-07-18T16:51:25Z")
In addition to analyzing issues, by reading and filtering it through my own experiences, I also look at the “company I’m keeping”. Every side has its share of asshats, but these days the other guys are letting them drive the bus. It is exceedingly hard for _people_ who are wrong to hold positions that aren’t wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Cumberdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Cumberdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cumberdale)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/36 "2018-07-20T03:00:19Z")
I feel I am on the right side because I am wiling to have my mind changed based on evidence or differing circumstances. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2018, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/37 "2018-07-20T03:43:36Z")
If I wasn’t 100% sure it was the right side, why the hell would I be on it? Being on the WRONG side is a choice that people make? C’mon, who does that? I mean BESIDES Nope., Nuh-uh., and do I really look like THAT much of an idiot? ---
**Author:** ![amarinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3be4f8/32.png) [@amarinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarinth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/38 "2018-07-22T20:47:08Z")
Another person who doesn’t think the word “right” applies. Based on the problems as I understand them and the data that I know about, I think that the way I want to address those problems is better than doing nothing, will cause more good than harm, and are better than the alternatives that I’m aware of. That said, I am not altogether sure that I’ve defined the problems correctly or that I have the right data or that situations or even my understandings aren’t going to change within the next day or week. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/39 "2018-07-22T21:04:01Z")
> [@amarinth](#): > > Another person who doesn’t think the word “right” applies. > > Based on the problems as I understand them and the data that I know about, I think that the way I want to address those problems is better than doing nothing, will cause more good than harm, and are better than the alternatives that I’m aware of. > > That said, I am not altogether sure that I’ve defined the problems correctly or that I have the right data or that situations or even my understandings aren’t going to change within the next day or week. Part of being right is defining the question. Given enough specifics it’s not hard to make a clear cut decision but real life doesn’t like to be put in a corner that way. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021/40 "2018-07-23T14:07:06Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > I’m right. I don’t have a side and I don’t apply a hard and fast position on many issues that are too complex for that. I believe in the malleability of circumstances and the evolution of solutions. That is something that shows the brilliance of the US Constitution that so few fail to realize, and unfortunately the weakness of great concepts that depend on fallible and less than honorable people to implement. This would have made a great deal of sense 20-30 years ago. It used to be a truism that Democrats and Republicans wanted the same things for America, but they had different ideas of how to get there. Maybe that once was so. But nowadays, their goals rather than just their means are diametrically opposed. Their very world views are in different universes. I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say what America has is a civil war being fought by political means. It’s all well and good to say “I don’t have a side” in normal times, but one side or the other will come out of the next few years with the upper hand in this war. I gotta admit I can more easily see how someone could be a Republican partisan than how an intelligent and aware person could lack for a opinion about which side that should have their hands on the levers of power in 2021 and beyond. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-sure-are-you-that-you-or-your-side-is-right/818021.md?page=1)