Breaking Off

I'm a fairly intelligent guy. I'm smart enough anyway to know that I don't know it all. I'm also smart enough to know that whether I'm sure I'm right about something or I only think I'm right, it's senseless to pursue the point. This comes up all too often online. I'll read something that a friend has written, and I'll see in it something that seems factually incorrect, or their conclusions seem incorrect. My natural impulse is to set them straight.

I do examine my motives. Is it my desire that someone simply knows and operates based on the correct facts, or am I somewhat less altruistic than that? Knowing how deeply imperfect I am, it is all too likely to be a very selfish motive, but that's not the point really. The point is that whatever drives me to engage in a line of conversation over what the truth of something is, I know if and when to end it. I'm thankful for that much.

Invariably it is best not to pursue these things. I try to keep myself from even starting, but if I can't help that, I wait and see what the first reply is. If it is remotely satisfying, then it could be worth going a little further. More likely is that I see in that reply something which tells me that I have achieved nothing and that if I continue I will achieve even less. I will do nothing except expend time and energy that might have actually accomplished something.

I do pretty well at this. When I am sure the exercise will be fruitless, I don't even try. When I think it might be, I still frequently manage to stay away. Even when I am sure I will win the point, I manage to not waste my time doing so unless there is some real profit in it. There never really is profit in it anyway, and when I'm sure I'll win, that's undoubtedly evidence that I won't. I never have been any good at arguing, so I'm glad that I'm getting any better at not trying.