Don’t feel stupid. Feel good, because you’ve stumbled across a place where ignorance–and the chance to learn–are welcomed. We have a large enough community that everybody I guess, is ignorant in some way; but everybody also has some area of expertise in which they can contribute. So, we learn from each other.
Me? I’m a Canadian lawyer, so I can address Canadian legal issues. That may seem to be a little narrow, but you’d be surprised at how often they come up. Besides, with many legal questions, there are a great many similarities among the common-law countries: the US, Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, India, etc. Otherwise, I contribute with music, theatre, movies, history and a few other areas.
But I willfully admit my ignorance in a number of areas: biology, for example; and engineering, among others. Those appropriately-qualified Dopers respond and post, and I learn from them. Not to mention the indirect education gained in learning how to debate, question, and challenge in an appropriate manner. I learn here, in other words, and I hope you do too. Stick around!
No-one on earth can know everything. The fact that there are a lot of people here who know a lot about their particular areas doesn’t mean that others are stupid. I’ve learned a lot over the years hanging out here. I don’t feel stupid that Stranger on a Train (just to pick one example) can explain rocket science so clearly and eloquently; it’s not something I know a lot about, and I’m glad that Stranger chooses to post here and respond to questions.
Learning should be full of [Johnny Carson]I didn’t know that![/Johnny Carson] moments, not “Gosh, I’m stupid” moments.
That’s a really good point; I decided long ago to use this board as an opportunity to become a better writer by never letting myself just post any old crap and calling it good enough, and I know that I’m a much better writer now than when I started here. There’s not much you can get away with here for sloppy writing or sloppy thinking, and I appreciate that. In real life, I’m frequently astonished by what people are using instead of logic and critical thinking.
To be fair, we learn at least as much about how NOT to debate, question and challenge in an appropriate manner. Rarely have I seen so many examples of intellectual dishonesty, ignoring of evidence and misconstruing of the position of other parties as I’ve seen here. That not to say such behavior goes unchallenged, but still the level of dishonesty and acrimony by some individuals sometimes takes my breath away.
I’m sure that’s equally or more true of many other internet sites, but I don’t hang out in many other internet sites.
Very well put, and I wish I had said that. You see, OP, how we can learn from each other.
Cat, as you may recall, I was a professional writer for a number of years. When it comes to writing on this board, I am surprised at how much I did not know about how to express myself. I use the lessons learned here here in my professional life–and they are quite effective. Certainly, this board has helped me take things to the next level, as it were.
Neither have I, but they provide good lessons in what not to do. And we always have the Doper’s ultimate question: “Cite?”
My contribution: I have a BA in anthropology. There is absolutely no way I am going to answer anthropology questions unless I’m 100% sure I know the answer (or can easily look it up). And since it’s been a few years since I graduated college, I’m reeeeeeeeal rusty. I’m seeing from this thread that there are others on here who have Ph.D’s who do the same thing (interesting, since I thought I was the only one who did that). Fuck, there may be an actual anthropologist with thirty years of experience on here who does that, for all I know.
The thing is, you pick your battles. You learn from others. You sit back and watch, if you have to, but if you jump right in and get your ass handed to you, that’s okay too.
This board is not full of vengeance. We’re not going to end up on the news because one of our number decided to go to someone else’s house and stab them because they disagreed with something they wrote in the Pit. We’re also not going to run you out on a rail because you’re wrong about something. (We do that if you’re actually being a jerk.) We’re more likely to get angry, then think about the consequences of doing something so rash, decide it’s not worth it, and have a beer instead.
And the nice thing about this place, or the internet in general? You can walk away. You don’t have to be around if you don’t want to. You can take breaks. If that’s what works for you, do it. Because at the end of the day, it’s just a message board.
I, too, lurked for a couple of years before I even signed up. This was the first board I had ever been to having come here from the books. I was completely intimidated by the rapier wit, cutting sarcasm, and vast intelligence here. I still fly under the radar most of the time but I learn something new every day.
The SDMB has actually made me a much better debater in one very specific way: I do not ever post anything factual without first checking those facts. Even if it’s just a quick glance through Wikipedia, I make sure that I’m not just repeating something I heard from someone else or that I’m pretty sure of or that I “know” via common sense. If my statement includes a fact, that fact has been checked. Saves a lot of time and embarrassment when discussing politics, current events, etc.
Crap, long post accidently deleted. Abridged version:
OP, You are averaging 12+ post per day. Most people who have been here for years average one post every few days. Talk less, listen more, learn. Treat this place like real life. Most of the long term posters do. It’s about a close as you can get to real life interactions with human beings on an internet message board.
Well, I’m lucky - I don’t have a degree in anything, and I’m not really an expert in anything, so I post about everything!
You do learn awfully quickly that, “I have heard that…” and, “I think that…” will go a long way towards reducing getting called out on stuff here. It’s not that we hate opinions; we just don’t like opinions stated as facts.
About 6 years ago I started a thread called “Nobody jacks with me about…?” That gave a rather interesting look at the scope of what people around here know in depth and are willing to be experts on. I really ought to start another one to see what’s changed in that amount of time.
If you keep in mind the basic purpose of the board - Fighting Ignorance - then it’s easy to be wrong without feeling humiliated. A simple “ignorance fought” is all the admission necessary to move on with your head held high.
I’ve only felt attacked on a couple of occasions, and neither was really about me or what I posted, but people who just clearly had emotional hot buttons about the particular topic. It only bothered me in that it sort of derailed the threads, when I really wanted/needed wise input.
I don’t really post or hang out in GQ (since I know that I will likely have nothing to contribute that someone else can’t do better).
What I come here for is to have a conversation (or even just listen in on a conversation) about anything. Why? Because it makes me feel less alone. Seriously. I feel like being smart is a bit of a curse. You really have very few people to talk to who will communicate on your level or that can keep up.
On top of that, when someone IRL spews some ignorant nonsense (like removing toxins from their system with a cleanse), I can’t tell them that they are full of hooey. I can do that here.
And I have learned A LOT about how the world works and about how others (who are at least smart enough to type in complete sentences) form their opinions of the world.
There’s being made to feel stupid and there’s merely being made to feel bad. While I’m sure the former does happen here from time to time, the second is far more common; especially when new members take their first tentative steps into The Pit. We have some genuine experts on various topics here, and who they are is generally pretty obvious and not something subject to dispute. We have a far greater population of garden-variety sarcastic assholes (of whom, yes, I am one).
