Before you get to hold an opinion firmly, you should be able to understand (and even relay) the opposing opinion fully. This is repeated in lots of sage advice. From Charlie Munger: >  I never allow myself to have an opinion on anything that I don't know the other side's argument better than they do. Stephen Covey talks about it in [[Book Summaries/The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey|7 Habits]] (Habit 5): > "Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood." Aristotle (apocryphally): > It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. John Stuart Mill: > He who knows only his own side of the case knows little of that. #published 2025-02-13 [[Do the work to hold an opinion]]