In the interest of encouraging some discussion, I'm going to post a couple of articles/posts/rants that I've written recently. The following one was written about three weeks ago. Please be kind; I'm young and naive.
"The trouble with having an open mind, of course, is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it." - Terry Pratchett
Though I agree with Mr. Pratchett, I don't think he's telling the whole story. People will insist on coming along and trying to put things in our minds, whether they're open or not. ;-) Being receptive to novel ideas just makes the whole job easier... for both sides.
I can recall a time, as I'm sure most of you can, when we were told, "Don't believe everything you find on the Internet!" (What? You mean they're actually still saying that?) Nowadays, of course, it's pretty easy to separate the useful content from the fluff, but 10-15 years ago, the Internet was a completely new - and terrifying - concept to many people. Fortunately, it didn't take long for us to open our minds to it. (If you pay much attention to politics, you might notice that the trend is reversing... but that's a whole separate rant.)
Now comes the tough part - the part you probably won't want to read. The part which will draw the most comments (and I always welcome comments), and the part in which I will attack a few closed thought patterns which are all too common, even in a university setting.
Politics: [leave anti-Bush bias here] Awhile back, I read an interesting study about politicians and their thought patterns. Specifics aside, the results showed that politicians, when analyzing arguments of their opponents, don't activate the regions of the brain responsible for reason. In short, they don't listen to the other side! No wonder Congress can never agree on anything! Folks, these are people that we (supposedly) elect. If you're a Democrat, listen to the Republicans. If you're a Republican, listen to the Democrats. If you're either of those, listen to the Independents. In fact, maybe everyone should listen to the Independents. [/pick up anti-Bush bias]
Religion (or lack thereof): The most annoying thing about trying to explain God to a closed-minded atheist is that they'll instantly reject it without "scientific" proof - it's as if nothing is possible until they can fully comprehend it. The most annoying thing about trying to explain evolution to a closed-minded fundamentalist is that they'll instantly reject it without "Biblical" proof - it's as if nothing is possible unless God has explicitly said that it was so. See the problem here? Regardless of the deity you do or do not worship, I guarantee that that deity will impart much more knowledge upon you if you simply choose to listen to it. Even in science, you have to be fully open to results you aren't expecting - otherwise, you risk the possibility of mis-recording them.
Races: If you haven't fidgeted a little by now, you probably will soon. If I'm to venture a guess, I would say that a vast majority of your close friends - if not all of them - are of your same race. Am I right? (I don't mean to sound "preachy"; I'm fairly guilty of this also.) Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why? It certainly isn't that we're all racists, and in fact studies have shown that it's psychological and that we don't even realize it. But doesn't it make sense that our communities would be healthier if our culture became more of a melting pot and less of a tossed salad?
I've got a few more, but it's getting late, and I think they'll be better saved for a Part II anyway. Though, given my track record, I may never write Part II. :-p Please do comment. I like it when people tell me I'm wrong; it makes me feel like they're paying attention. ;-)
Oh, and a quick bite for those of you who are screaming, "Gullible!":
"It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it." - Aristotle
Care to change my mind? :-)