> Usually people are terrible at having an open-minded conversation, and you need to peel back the layers because most individuals won’t tell you why they believe something.
What beliefs would they have? If I am having a conversation about a topic it is because I have no established beliefs about that topic. If I have firm beliefs in something, what additional benefit would be derived from discussing it? There is absolutely nothing more boring than talking about something you are certain you know everything about.
I expect I also seem closed-minded in such conversation as the most effective device I have found to be open-minded in conversation is to pick a position, any position, and see if it can be defended. Upon reflection, you can gain a lot of insight into where you fell short in understanding and learn from that.
> You’ll get all these canned responses and talking points from mainstream media
Which is fine. A weak defence is sufficient to get started. The goal isn't to "win", the goal is to learn and if canned responses greases the wheels of discussion that leads to something valuable to reflect on later, that's all that is needed. You have to start somewhere with what limited information you have available to you. After all, if you were the world's utmost expert you wouldn't be in the conversation, given the boringness and all.
What beliefs would they have? If I am having a conversation about a topic it is because I have no established beliefs about that topic. If I have firm beliefs in something, what additional benefit would be derived from discussing it? There is absolutely nothing more boring than talking about something you are certain you know everything about.
I expect I also seem closed-minded in such conversation as the most effective device I have found to be open-minded in conversation is to pick a position, any position, and see if it can be defended. Upon reflection, you can gain a lot of insight into where you fell short in understanding and learn from that.
> You’ll get all these canned responses and talking points from mainstream media
Which is fine. A weak defence is sufficient to get started. The goal isn't to "win", the goal is to learn and if canned responses greases the wheels of discussion that leads to something valuable to reflect on later, that's all that is needed. You have to start somewhere with what limited information you have available to you. After all, if you were the world's utmost expert you wouldn't be in the conversation, given the boringness and all.