Fact vs. Opinion

Too many people, myself sometimes included, have the irritating tendency to state their opinion as fact. As an admitted (and hopefully reformed) perpetrator, I can say that it comes from an arrogant inner belief that "I know more than you" therefore my opinion as compared to yours is more substantive. The "factual opinion" will come out dripping with condescension and you may notice your temper flaring up during the discussion but I implore you to reconsider. Any noticeable anger will only be seen as further confirmation by the perpetrator that he/she is indeed more intellectual than you as you cannot control your emotions in debate.

The funny thing about people that engage in this form of assertions, they are, more often than not, wrong about whatever they are discussing. Condescension is used as a tool to manipulate the emotions of their opponent because they, again more often than not, lack the proper amount of knowledge required about the subject to continue the intellectual discourse. Another typical attribute of these perpetrators is they tend to take a dissenting opinion as a personal attack, therefore they may resort to ad hominem attacks to systematically deconstruct, not only the challenging commentary, but the commentator as well.

The key to defeating these arrogant and petty methods is to understand what they are at their base; arrogant and petty individuals. There is no need to indulge their self-serving assertions much of the time. If there is ever a time when you must engage the ignorance head-on, remember to remain calm at all times, do your best to keep the focus of discussion on the topic at hand, keep the debate as short as possible, and take solace in the idea that with every battle with ignorance, you become more adept at discerning its origins and dismantling its foundations. Good luck.

PS - For the record a FACT is something that can be proved or backed up with evidence. An opinion is based on a belief or view. Facts are facts, and we hope opinions are conclusions based UPON facts.