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Why discussions generate into personal affronts...

Hello to all... I am a new-be in comparison to those who have thousands of inputs into forums/discussions.

I find it disappointing that in reading inputs, I have to waste time in members sniping at each other. Half the time it simply is a difference in opinion that breaks down into nasty idiocy,  and half the time I need some type of reference to past verbal battles fought about in other topics/forums. 

WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO IMHO? Many times spewing personal dogma against each other just confuses simple people like me who are just looking for guidance - not miracles. We all view another's opinion with reservation - nobody's got a doctorate on audiophile experience; if I was to listen to and obey the professionals, I would never had experimented with 12g solid core copper, vinyl-jacketed wire, twisted and used bare wire no connectors -WHICH I AM VERY HAPPY WITH ...

SO: SOMEBODY fill me in why knowledgeable people generate into nastiness in discussions...
insearchofprat

Showing 2 responses by berner99

berner99
214 posts
 
People's understanding of audio (and in general, the world) is a part of who they are.  Dissenting views threaten that understanding which can be upsetting and people can get angry.

Counterpoint:  In theory there is no difference between theory and practice; in practice there is.  There are things in various areas of life that should not work, but do, and/or are unexplainable*.  Which is not to suggest that one believe every fad either.

*Science is only settled, until it is not.  History is filled with examples of peoples/scientists sure of one thing or another which are subsequently shown to be false (see Max Plank quote in the "Is There any Consensus at all amongst Audiophiles" thread.)
berner99
214 posts
 
MItch2,
Toward understanding why:

When people hear a 5 year old say something silly/untrue about the way the world works, few get upset. OTOH when e.g. an engineer runs across people saying things about cables/interconnects that appears to contradict what they know, some get upset/angry. Nobel prize winning physicist Max Planck said:

A scientific truth does not triumph by convincing its opponents and making them see the light, but rather because its opponents eventually die and a new generation grows up that is familiar with it.

People are very attached to their ideas and presenting contrary information can be very threatening to some people. Some people are open (perhaps too open in some cases) to new ideas, others not so much.

"We have forgotten how to agree to disagree" We do live in polarizing times, but I think it is more a matter of individual temperament.
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