The phrase of the century

I'm one to blow my own trumpet.

That's not the phrase, but there's no real point in trying to make myself sound humble. When I create something new, I want people to see what I've done. When I create something which I'm proud of, I want people to see it.

The phrase of the century is this: A closed mind remains empty. When you shut out everything that disagrees with your current worldview, you will learn nothing. An open mind is a key ingredient in learning, and all of us have things to learn.

I think this IRC log illustrates my shock at my creation.

[05:19] <JustHalf> That's only with REALLY STUPID PEOPLE doodee, who are too afraid that they might be wrong to permit dissent. When these ****ing k********es go on about how great free speech is, I want to throw rocks at them for hypocrasy.

[05:19] <D|Aweh> heh

[05:19] <D|Aweh> i know

[05:19] <D|Aweh> but theres nothing you can do

[05:19] <JustHalf> Yes there is

[05:19] <D|Aweh> ignor ehtem

[05:19] <D|Aweh> them

[05:19] * JustHalf picks up some rocks

[05:19] <D|Aweh> naw there isn't

[05:19] <D|Aweh> people will be k********s

[05:20] <JustHalf> Stoning is the new black

[05:20] <D|Aweh> its gods free will working in them

[05:20] <JustHalf> Working in them?

[05:20] <JustHalf> That's not right

[05:20] <D|Aweh> my dads words though

[05:20] <D|Aweh> closed mouth catches no flies

[05:20] <JustHalf> A closed mind remains empty

[05:20] <D|Aweh> believe in what you want and dont let others change you

[05:20] <JustHalf> Oh shit, I think I just coined the phrase of the century

[05:20] <D|Aweh> after all, we aint signing up for sides in a war

[05:21] <JustHalf> I ****ing did

[05:21] <JustHalf> "A closed mind remains empty"

[05:21] <JustHalf> **** YEAH

Comments

Ray:

I like the phrase. I really do. It could mean more than just personally, though. I've known plenty of people that I've tried to show them something new and they completely blew it off because they didn't want to take the time to learn. Have you ever worked with people that refuse to learn a better way, too?

But back to the personal meaning of the phrase, yes it really makes sense. While the person you were chatting with had a point about believing in what you want, not listening to others is never good. You may be afraid to listen because it could destroy your belief system, but you really never know until you actually listen. You say you're a Christian. Listen to someone who disagrees with you, digest what they've said and figure out what's wrong and what's right about their opinion, and you could end up with an even stronger faith.

Sorry for going on and on in your comments, but that really is a great phrase.

Posted at September 26, 2004 02:54 AM

David Barrett:

The people I refer to in the first line of that little snippet really annoy me. We were actually talking about tolerance of other people's beliefs, and Doodee mentioned the maxim that "Do and believe what you want, as long as it doesn't harm anyone else".

I said that I agreed with the general principle of that phrase, but that some people had stretched it too far. These idiots will claim that mentioning your beliefs is "forcing your beliefs onto them", which "causes harm" and is therefore wrong. What they really mean is that they want to stop their own beliefs from being questioned.

Religious belief gets this a lot harsher than most, and faces the most hypocracy from these sort of people ( their rhetoric will talk of tolerance of other religions, while they openly insult Christians and Christianity ), but I've encountered this A LOT with other forms of beliefs, particularly political beliefs.

I definitely believe you should have an open mind.

Posted at September 26, 2004 04:00 AM