9rx 4 days ago

> I am open to someone making such a point

Someone else is not you presenting an argument. You making an argument about what you know about 1+1=2 is what is boring. Let's be real: You're not going to do it. Why would you? You are already confident in your understanding.

I mean, do it if you want. I'm not sure why you'd waste your time, though. You aren't going to gain anything from it.

Only if you really had no idea what is going on and wish to understand a topic in more detail would you go down the road of getting into an argument. But when you are in that state you are not in a position to have made a mind.

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filoleg 4 days ago

Agreed, I would not start an argument in favor of 1+1=2, just like I wouldn’t start an argument about sky being blue on a sunny day, because most people would just agree with me. The whole point of an argument is exploring ideas and learning something new, and I have zero new info on those topics that would go against what most already believe.

9rx 4 days ago

> The whole point of an argument is exploring ideas and learning something new

Exactly. Which is why argumentation becomes boring once you are at the point where you feel there is nothing left that you can learn. Not only does it become boring, but it encroaches on the time you have to broach subjects you want to learn about, so there is great incentive to move on for that reason as well.

But when you are in a state where you still feel there is something left to learn, where you might drum up an argument to continue to learn and explore, you're not going to make a mind. That would be nonsensical.

So the idea of argument changing your mind isn't practical, even if theoretically possible. During argument, there is no mind to change. Once a mind is made, argument ceases (fake argument with ulterior motives aside).

filoleg 4 days ago

I feel like we broadly agree and are just griping over the semantics of what “made up my mind” means.

> argumentation becomes boring once you are at the point where you feel there is nothing left that you can learn

Agreed, but here is the thing: there are plenty of topics on which I feel like “there is nothing left to learn,” but that doesn’t mean to me personally that there is nothing left, it just means I believe it is extremely unlikely to find anything new. Just by the definition, I wouldn’t know if there was anything new I haven’t learned yet, otherwise I would’ve went and learned it myself already. So that potentially new stuff would have to come from elsewhere.

However, I can definitely express my belief in the likelihood of discovering something new on the topic being extremely low, which is what i count as “i made up my mind” for myself personally.

9rx 4 days ago

> I feel like we broadly agree

I am not sure I am in a proper place to agree or disagree. I'm still in argument mode, which means I don't understand the topic well enough to be in a state where I could agree or disagree. I do hope to get there someday, but when I do get there you aren't to hear more from me on the subject! I'll have grown bored of it and will be on to the next. Such is the human condition.