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I draw a distinction between a person saying something I disagree with, ("I think variable foo should be 35%, not 34%") and a person being outrageously, astonishingly wrong. ("Solar roadways are a good idea." "Instagram is worth one billion dollars.")

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>> outrageously, astonishingly wrong. ("Solar roadways are a good idea." "Instagram is worth one billion dollars.")

I don't think I'd downvote your two examples, they just sound like opinions I'd politely disagree with. To me, outrageously, astonishingly wrong would be something like "the Holocaust didn't happen", "the moon landing was faked" or "Obama wasn't born in Hawaii".

I was trying to find opinions that weren't political, but were badly wrong. Your three examples fall mostly under the heading of Big Lies. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_lie)

Your third example should go under the distinction of statements you disagree with.

There are plenty of reasons why Instagram may be worth $1 billion that are not outrageously, astonishingly wrong. Not least of which is because that's what Facebook paid for it two years ago. Instagram has grown significantly since then, as has FB's valuation. I'd speculate Instagram could go public today at a low multi-billion valuation.

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