‘When the facts change; I change my mind’

if i am wrong about something then i say that i am sorry, i sometimes change my mind as more facts come to light, but the one thing i am guilty of is if i meet someone and i do not take to them then i never will, i have been like that since i was young, i would never be nasty or anything, i would still be polite but not want to make friends with them and nothing would make me change my mind.

I always smell a rat when people (specially politicians) talk about facts, as though their interpretation of whatever it is is the only one.

When they've established that they have 'the facts' they can control the direction of the narrative.

I think that anyone who thinks the same at fifty as they did at fifteen has either had a very sheltered life (or possibly a very traumatic one), or suffers from arrested development. Life is about learning - from experience, mistakes and from others.

Life experience has made me change my opinions on a lot of things. I was, like many I suppose, a Tory because my parents were. Reading, life, experience soon changed that, but the current administration would have made my parents change their minds too. You are supposed to get more right wing as you get older, I have gone the opposite way! I am happy to admit this to people, I don't think I was necessarily wrong to vote Tory when I was younger and don't apologise for it, it was based on what I knew. I used to be a bit baffled when people had disastrous relationships, multiple marriages etc., but having seen it happen to a good friend I think I am more understanding and certainly less disapproving ( not sure that is the correct word though), and realise it can happen to the nicest and kindest of people, people who are preyed upon by men who sense their vulnerabilities and take advantage. These maybe aren't facts as such, more awareness I suppose. Hopefully will have made me a better less judgemental person

Isn't that true of all facts?

I'm another one who thinks that the saying is badly worded, and 'facts' don't change. In fact, I think it's really dangerous to promulgate this because it promotes distrust in the truth and vulnerability to misinformation and manipulation. QAnon, anyone?

The only thing 'factual' about the examples MOnica gave was that people believed them to be true.

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I agree with Silverlining48 and tippytipsy.

The arrival of the internet into daily life gave so much access to (good and bad) information that facts ,previously hidden , changed many a mind

Being ridiculously indecisive, I change my mind a lot.

I agree with M0nica that beliefs adapt rather than suddenly change.

I used to think that people had a right to smoke indoors, for example. I didn’t wake up one day and think they were all inconsiderate and selfish, but I definitely think that the rights of non-smokers to clean air takes precedence now.

As regards feminism, I think that a lot of younger women don’t realise how much the world is stacked against them. It’s not until they are a bit older and on the next stage in their careers, are starting to become invisible or are having to make decisions about how to juggle the needs of children with their own that the penny drops.

NfkDumpling I read something similar a long time ago, but when I mentioned it I was told that I knew nothing about what it was like to be autistic. At the time, that was almost correct, but doing courses on ASD and working with those affected means I now know at least that people with ASD may share some characteristics, but there is no one definitive autistic person.

Absent you can only say what you say with retrospect. At the time it was seen as an undeniable fact. Facts are undeniable - until proven otherwise - and they frequently are.

A few people have Damascus Road. changes of opinion, but generally I find that changing opinions are like a river, new ideas continually come in through sidestreams and the river changes as it goes down stream. I think very differently on many subjects than I did 10, 20 or 50 years ago, but mostly it has been done by small adjustments rather than Damascene conversions so it is impossible to say that at such and such a date, I changed my mind completely on anything.

Molly and Fanny - off subject a bit but I read that everybody is on the autism spectrum, but some are a lot more autistic than others.

My DF made me always to look at things from other peoples' points of view. It can be a strength or a weakness as I can often change my mind when listening to someone else's angle on something.

If a situation changes, the facts change then attitudes should change too. I wish that the media would realise this and not throw what someone once said back at them as if it's still relevant. Politicians seemed to be advised to never admit to changing their minds. I think they should.

I think changing my mind, based on new information or further thinking, is certainly a strength rather than a weakness.

Those who never change their views are lacking in confidence, never reviewing, being inflexible - or unsure of their opinions in the first place.

A work colleague had (and often vocalised) strong views, set in stone - that she couldn't explain the reasons for. It turned out the opinions belonged to her husband - how pathetic!

Yes, Molly, I think that I thought similarly about ADHD.
I still think that is is an overused term, but there is no denying that it is an actual condition.
I think that having an adult female friend with ADHD made my understand it far better.

Sometimes changing your mind comes with experiencing something and having to find out more about it. For me it was autism. I really just viewed it as yet another MH problem people talked about. Faced with the challenges of working with people with ASD changed my mind about that.

M0nica For something to be truly called a fact, there must be strong evidence. Belief – the sun and heavens go round the earth – is not the same as incontrovertible evidence that the planets orbit the sun. Opinion – that women were inferior to men – is subject to bias and expedience.

I was a bit like Galaxy says; I was never much of a feminist when, in hindsight, I should have been. I relied too much on other women striving and fighting for what's been achieved and I contributed very little. I changed my mind on that about 15 years ago and have been far more appreciative of what was done for me and more pro active in adding to that.

AGAA4
That I can connect with!
Was a massive Tory supporter, now I know I’ll never vote for them again.
I think I’ve just generally become more understanding and tolerant rather than doing a lot of U turns. But yes, a lot of my opinions have changed over the years.

Facts are not set in stone and do change when they way we look at them does.

It used to be a fact that the sun and all the heavens went round the earth, until someone looked a little closer and found that we were part of a planetary system that went round the sun.

The inferiority of women to men was once a fact, until we started to look at it differently. Many believed in the Divine Right of Kings. facts are only what we say they are and how we say them - bit like truth.

I've changed a lot of my opinions over the years.

Oh lots of things. So many of them.

From views about homosexuality and people of colour to feminism and all sorts of things really.

I grew up in a very backwards thinking family and so most changes only made logical sense when I started moving in different circles.

I'm still wrong about things and change my mind often. That sometimes depends on who I'm talking to because some people are very off-putting with the way they put accros their views. So I look for the bigger picture and over views instead of just doubling down.

I try to really listen and understand topics that come up and think about others pespectives and even if I do still disagree I try to do so respectfully unless I get none in return.

I think there are people out there who cannot or will not change their minds and aren't open to ever being wrong (my maternal family as an example) and I can't see how it ever brings them any happiness to not change and grow and keep their minds closed and offended to new ideas.

If I am wrong about something I have come clean and admit it. As I get older it’s easier to do when I was young I was stubborn.

If I am wrong I always like to be the first person to say so and if I can not be first then I will be second. I find that the quicker you say you are wrong the quicker people forget that you were wrong.

If something is a fact, then surely it doesn't change. Circumstances change, more information may become available and further facts may be revealed, causing a change of opinion.