You don't need an opinion
Ah, one of my favorite subjects. Opinions.
Like one of my favorite quotes go: “Opinions are like assholes. Everyone has one.”
But before jumping into that (opinions, not assholes), let’s jump to today’s exercise:
If you were alone in a dark cabin, with only one match and a lamp, a fireplace, and a candle to choose from, which would you light first?
One potential answer, as usual, at the end.
Lateral thinking makes the world go ‘round. So forward this newsletter to a friend and tell them to subscribe by clicking here.
How the Internet screwed us
The internet is one of the most beautiful things to happen in our lifetime. Without it, I wouldn’t have a job or a business and you wouldn’t be reading this newsletter.
It also gave everyone a voice. On the downside, it made everyone think that their opinion is special and unique. Every voice should be heard, but most voices sound the same.
If you think that’s untrue, you don’t understand how the world works.
If you think that SHOULDN’T be true, you should go into writing fiction. That’s a compelling story waiting to be told, but it doesn’t make it any more true.
Because we all have a significantly larger audience than we used to, we feel we have to say things. That we should have opinions on almost anything that matters.
We take sides while barely knowing any information on the matter.
It’s almost impossible to be moderate about something or, God forbid, say “I don’t know”.
Here’s a challenge for you. Say “I don’t have an opinion on that” on subjects that you don’t feel you truly master. Try it for a couple of weeks.
In reality, you only master a couple of subjects anyway. But when asked what your opinion is, say you don’t have an opinion because you don’t know enough on the topic.
Of course, you can still discuss it, but the angle changes significantly when you don’t take a stance by default.
And that’s where progress is made.
Not from two uninformed sides blindly battling it out, but from people who know they both hold half the truth and are looking for the missing half.
Answer: You first light the match.
Honest question (and feel free to reply to this email) - did you figure out the answer easily?
I’m trying to gauge if I should ramp up the level of lateral thinking puzzles or if we should keep it moderate (or even simplify it).