I Stopped Being a Libertarian Because I Realized the Sky is Blue

elseif has not written about this yet · Betonit Ai describes it this way

When a thinker publicly changes his mind on major questions, neutral observers normally interpret it as a sign of courage and maturity. Almost no one enjoys admitting they were wrong — and “I changed my mind” is tantamount to “I was wrong.”On reflection, however, this favorable interpretation is premature. Yes, changing your mind because you discover surprising new evidence or arguments is courageous and mature. But what if you change your mind for purely emotional reasons, like “The idea that murderers shouldn’t be punished started to disgust me”? Or because you have a falling out with friends who share your views? “My girlfriend dumped me, so I left the church.” Neither of these intellectual paths even hints at courage or maturity.The situation only slightly shifts if you change your mind because you “discover” blatantly obvious evidence or arguments. True, belatedly acknowledging the blatantly obvious is more courageous and mature than denying them in perpetuity. “I realized that if incomes were fully equal, it would be hard to hire garbage collectors” or “I now concede that people in the U.S. are richer than in Russia” are both intellectual improvements. Strategically, you migh