“Sherlock Holmes tells Watson that when it comes to the art of reasoning, many people rely on opinion and unsupported assumptions” rather than “undeniable fact.” This is very true because when trying to reason, whether it is your experiences or the experiences of others, you subconsciously rule out some aspects and place emphasis on others. Also, when gathering information about an issue, you may read reports or listen to stories, and this also removes you from the truth. The purpose of these reports or stories may be to strictly provide information but perceptions vary from person to person and therefore, the information will not be an entirely accurate description of the issue at hand.
This is a major issue when anyone asks for relationship advice. My friend regularly tells me the bad things that go on in her relationship. From arguments to rumors, I’ve heard it all! When she asks me for advice I cannot reason properly because I have only heard her side of the story. Her interpretation of what happens is definitely different from his. She leaves out the mean things she does and emphasizes the bad he does. So the important thing to take away from Sherlock Holmes’ quote to Watson is that it is important to get your information from multiple sources to avoid reasoning that is clouded with and based on opinions and unsupported assumptions.
I have the same problem when I talk to my friends about relationships. Usually I just automatically empathize with whoever I'm talking and try to see things from their point of view because, what else can I do? Especially when people are talking about relationships I think people just aren't going to be objective about it and it's very difficult to hear the whole story from both sides. It's impossiblt to try to play devil's advocate because anything you could say about why the other person is acting a certain way or doing something can only be an assumption about what I would do in that situation.
ReplyDeleteI also have this problem when I talk to people about relationships. I usually end up being the person that both people in the relationship talk to which sucks because they always expect me to take sides. I always have the guy tell me all the stuff that she complains about and I have the girl tell me all the things she wished her boyfriend does. It's hard to take sides not only because they're both my friends, but also because I am never really sure how the argument started. They just both tell me "oh it's her fault" or "oh it's his fault" until they eventually forgive each other. It makes it nearly impossible to help them and give advice without knowing the truth.
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