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Small-Scale Question Sunday for March 12, 2023

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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Has anyone else noticed a shift towards 'I feel' and against 'I think'? This is in writing but especially in speech, unprepared dialogue.

It's been irking me for months now. 'I feel like' sounds weaker than 'I think that'. It's like a defensive measure, a way to avoid being shown up. You can have a wrong or incorrect thought but it's much harder to have a wrong feeling. There's also a lack of rigor to feelings, it's as though they're reading into vibes (another similar idea). Thoughts should at least be connected to logic and some kind of fact, there'd be some kind of basis for them. Feelings need no basis.

I recall that there used to be more confidence and surety. People would say 'I think' or just make a plain factual statement. Or even a plain normative statement like 'X should do Y to Z'.

I did a quick ctrl F and found there to be 35 'I thinks' and 1 'I feel' in this thread, which perhaps disproves my paranoia. But then again this is an unusual place.

I think there is at least one very good reason to write "I feel" or other mellowing qualifiers before a statement that have nothing to do with being afraid of criticism, namely to get people to engage with your overall point rather than quibbling about details.

Its the same reason I say stuff like "that's a good point" even when I think someone said something completely wrong and retarded. Telling them the truth doesn't lead to functional conversation outside a small subset of people on the spectrum (no it's not people here).

People are willing to let minor errors pass or let go of erroneous ideas if you let them do so. Boldly state everything all the time you'll get nowhere.