In my opinion, in the name of god saved ToT of being the worst for me.
as a side note: I wish people uses "in my opinion" more often....
because saying "in my opinion" after every single statement is practical when its obviously assumed to be an opinion in the first place
I think the act of deference is what people like.
For starters, nobody's doing themself a favour by speaking in absolutes. "Factiness" is a rich spectrum. Dropping the "maybes" and "to an extents" and "as far as I'm concerneds" is like buying a box of crayons, and only EVER using the red one. If you're not qualifying your opinion with opinion words, you're not saying precisely what you mean. It's a very clumsy way to communicate. Speaking in absolutes kind of means they're devalued when you actually do want to state something as a fact. And as that boundary isn't always crystal clear, I think it's only sensible to be precise at all times.
But, more importantly (or hey! less importantly, why not), people are more likely to like you. Sometimes opinions are implicit, and that's fine. If I say "The Ministry of Lost Souls is crap," it's obvious that I don't mean that as an objective fact, sure. But if I say "I'm not fond of the Ministry of Lost Souls," I'm allowing people to disagree with me. It's not hostile. It's not insulting. And it places the blame in my own court. It's not an attack on a work that someone likes, it's an opinion you've taken from said work. Not insulting, not degrading, not vicious.
'Course, sometimes you want to be vicious. But if you're being aggressive, it'd be a bit rich not to expect others to be defensive.
I don't know. I think it's fair to be nitpicky. And I don't think it's fair to dismiss the idea of saying what you mean, as opposed to saying roughly what you mean and expecting everyone else to judge the context correctly. Sometimes it's obvious. Other times it's not.
(Speaking of nitpicks, all "you"s in the above post are totally impersonal. As in "what one means." Not as in "Seventh Son, I am talking directly to you." I'm just far too colloquial for that shizzat, y'all.)
Its not being hostile at all unless you happen to interpret it that way. Which in that case you interpreted what that person said incorrectly.
After a while of discussion with music, I find that just saying what I want to say is far easier than adding an "in my opinion" at the end of it every time I say it. If I think Systematic Chaos is shit, then that's just my opinion. And its pretty obvious its my opinion. Its a strong one, true. But that was the intention, because I strongly think that to be true. That's not to say you aren't allowed to have your own opinion, I just think you're wrong and I strongly disagree with you. There's still room for someone else to have a different opinion.
Oh totally. And nine times out of ten, it
is going to be blatantly obvious what you mean. 'Sa bit like exaggerating for effect. Everyone
should know that my granddad hasn't been alive for "centuries." That would be newsworthy. He would be in the Guinness Book of Records. But if I said I'd been "waiting for hours," it starts to get a bit cloudy.
Think that avoiding absolutes just enrichens your language, meself. "In my opinion" won't always be appropriate. Better not to rely on people taking it for granted.
Er, or that's me, anyway. God that was a patronising rant. Many 'pologies for all of the above horseshit.
Topic: Train of Thought Appreciation Thread (Read 14245 times)
