Tough question, especially with the holidays approaching. Iād say wear masks.
Yeah, pretty much.
Who wants to admit, āI was wrongā?
There are exceptions, of course, but Iād say most people arenāt interested in changing their opinions or beliefs.
EXCERPT
āThe idea that herd immunity will happen at 10 or 20 percent is just nonsense,ā said Dr. Christopher J.L. Murray, director of the University of Washingtonās Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, which produced the epidemic model frequently cited during White House news briefings as the epidemic hit hard in the spring.
That belief began circulating months ago on conservative news programs like those of Rush Limbaugh and Laura Ingraham. It has been cited several times by Dr. Scott W. Atlas, President Trumpās new pandemic adviser. It appears to be behind Mr. Trumpās recent remarks that the pandemic is ārounding the cornerā and āwould go away even without the vaccine.ā
But it is also gaining credence on Wall Street and among some business executives, said prominent public health experts, who consider the idea scientifically unfounded as well as dangerous; its most vocal adherents are calling for mask-wearing and social distancing to end just as cold weather is shifting social activity indoors, where the risk of transmission is higher.
Can opinions be changed? In some cases it might be possible to change your own.
Maybe itās related to educationāas long as you are reading and learning something new every day, then you are increasing your body of knowledge available to evaluate different viewpoints.
Maybe itās related to travelāif you have the opportunity to visit or live in another state or country, then you are exposed to how other people live in a different culture.
Maybe itās related to conversationāif you talk to people about their experiences, then you can walk a mile in their shoes and develop empathy for their different life.
kennybobby that is very well stated. I have found, in many cases, these perspectives you outlined are when I really ālearnā about people. places and things and when my opinion or preconceived notions āprejudicesā can be changed. I almost always find that I am improved as a person. Occasionally I find that I was right all along but I learn in any event. Thanks a lot for your post.
Unfortunately, both Lightbringer and kennybobby are right: most people arenāt interested in changing their opinions and beliefs, and for people who are, education throughout oneās lifetime, travel, and conversation can be a source of information that can change oneās mind and increase oneās knowledge on a variety of subjects.
When I was first connected to the web, I was excited by the opportunity to gain access to a lot more information on almost any subject very easily. I believed that access to the web would help humanity in general by enabling us to expand our knowledge in a very efficient way. However, what has come to pass is the opposite effect. The web is most often used to reinforce preexisting beliefs and opinions, rather than as a source of information that can challenge us to see the world in a different way and change our views. The web, and social media in particular, have resulted in a further polarization of society, rather than a broader feeling of community based on a shared base of knowledge. This effect has been accelerated and amplified by people who have realized they can make a good living or further political or national interests by promoting false and/or misleading information on the web - or by helping other people promote false and/or misleading information on the web.
It only takes a public emergency, such as a pandemic, for the results of this reality to become tragic, as we have seen in the USA.
Yep, thatās when Manā¢ is shown as he really is, the shaved ape who flings his doody at others.
Me, cynical? Nahā¦
Yep
Donald Trump & Melania Trump have contracted #COVID19, testing positive. It appears they got it from Hope Hicks on a recent trip. Numerous other staffers were also in close proximity to Hope Hicks. A sizable portion of Trumpās staff may end up in quarantine.
Hmmm, and right before the election, too.
I smell a conspiracyā¦
My thoughts and prayers are with the virus.
Hi everyone, I think the most obvious coronavirus related news item at this point in time isnāt really news anymore due to the extremely heavy media coverage. So please avoid the topic here on BLF, as it will only lead to political controversy.
Very well said.
As NorthernHarrier mentions, Google heavily bends search results in favor of what it has determined that the individual user already likes and believes. And itās remarkable how entities like FB, Twitter, and Youtube have basically proclaimed themselves as canonical sources of and defenders of The Truth. Thatās a realm/role that I definitely donāt want to get into here on BLF, which is why I put the blanket prohibition on everything controversial, regardless of whether I personally consider it to be true or false, or even if Iāve never looked into it.
Well, itās kinda like Amazon. You buy an automatic egg-peeler, and next thing you know, theyāre pushing more and more āsuggested for youā listings for even more egg-peelers. Like, how many egg-peelers can one person use??
Same with those āSources Of Trvthā. You search for something bizarre, like āokanye west drink baby blood, and next time youāre online, thatās pretty much all you get. Next thing you know, youāre convinced thatās what he does, because it just gets reinforced over and over and over, rarely if ever any āsuggestionsā for anything to the contrary.
(Psst! He does! I saw it online! 
)
I read it in the Daily Mail.
āPresident Trump took an 8-gram dose of Regeneronās antibody cocktail on Fridayā
Are you sure that isnāt the garlic on your breath? Take off your mask, I bet the smell dissipatesā¦. 