I don't block people on Cohost. I can't bring myself to. Even for people I think are piece of shit, even with people I got into fight with, I still don't block. At worst, I unfollow them.
On Tumblr, I don't have that same compulsion. I don't mind blocking account that spread hateful or distasteful content. But here, it's different.
There are a lot of thoughtful post here, and a lot of clever arguments. I make sure to give a fair hearing to each I read, even if the author has disappointed me in the past. But I am so weak. I have so many bias, and using rationality is difficult. It is easy to make a faulty reasoning, or misinterpret a word or not consider the obvious reply to my counter-argument. I am so small. Better to be safe and keep an open mind.1
Believing something false is no big deal, I know. It is not a sin to be wrong. But sometimes it does matter, a lot. I don't want to hurt people, but I don't want to be gullible either.
But if I'm writing this, it's not because I think this attitude is helping me either. Part of me is content with my attitude, and is praising me for being Most Rational, but another part suspect it is contributing to the feeling of anxiety I sometimes have when I read the site. As is usually the case, I don't know what to think.
-
I see it as a manifestation of the age old debate about what is the best attitude to acquire knowledge vs what is the best attitude to not gain false beliefs.
