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Comment by autoexec | Hacker News Reader

Just a friendly reminder for any who need to hear it again: it's really okay to have been wrong and okay to admit that you've been being lied to. Changing your views when confronted with new evidence that shows your beliefs/assumptions were incorrect is a sign of intelligence. It can also let you focus more of your attention on new topics/areas that are still important for protecting yourself and your loved ones.

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For what it's worth, this is still quite loaded, and I think it's far more helpful to drop the stuff about lies and protection of loved ones and simply say:

It's good to weaken or strengthen your views based on the evidence given, and intellectual humility often leads to a better grasp of issues.

And it's also worth recognising, as another commenter has noted, that this is something that extremely few people are good at. It's an error to think that assenting to mainstream views is a strong sign of intellectual humility.

I wonder how many people on HN believe stuff like this though. Not that many?

I'm open to being wrong on that guess.

there is a nonzero amount in the sphere of antivaxxers. if not for the exact reason, but because engineering types are more likely to lean libertarian or believe their position in a dominant field gives them a superiority complex over other fields

Rewind back to the '21 and Id say we were at-least 10% of HN.

Textbook vocal minority.

You have personally contributed 5/84 = 6% of the comments on this article.

Out of curiosity, when is the last time you changed your mind about something moral? If you can’t remember the time, it’s petty rich to accuse others of being exactly as close minded as you are.

I've dramatically changed my moral views over the course of my life and I'm continuously seeking to hone them. I'm not sure what you're getting at.

Not terribly long ago, but I don't see "do vaccines cause autism" as being a moral position.

Precisely this. Nothing wrong with changing your mind. In fact swing the other way and own the idea. Its just an opinion, get a different one, nobody cares.

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