Opinions.
Please no!
Opinions are absolutely everywhere.
And in my opinion…they suck.
And yes, sometimes the opinion of a knowledgeable person might be valuable, but not all the time. Too often, an opinion is just someone’s prediction based on what they’d like to happen.
Like…
“Two years from now, spam will be solved.”
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, 2004
Yeah, sure Bill, we’re all living a spam free life…
or
“Nuclear-powered vacuum cleaners will probably be a reality within ten years.”
Alex Lewyt, president of Lewyt vacuum company, 1955
Thanks, Alex. How to make housework even less appealing.
Other opinions are merely what someone is hoping is true:
“Apple is already dead.”
Nathan Myhrvold, former Microsoft CTO, 1997
I have had opinions like that. Like the time I opined my hair wasn’t receding, I was just looking a little more surprised each morning.🙄
And then, of course, there are those ‘cheery’ people who look at the world through dark, negative glasses, even though there could be great opportunities just around the corner:
“There is no reason anyone would want a computer in their home.”
Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, 1977
I like that quote because in 1992, my first ‘proper’ job was as a systems manager for a travel company, where I ran a small network of DEC computers with a few of the old green-screen terminals and hundreds of the ‘newfangled’ PCs. I’ll admit that in some ways, Ken might have been correct. Especially if you’d like to have a good conversation or you don’t enjoy being fact-checked by your family every time you speak.
Opinions separate us from our stories and our experiences, obscuring the facts, as we try to persuade the listener or prevent them from coming to their own conclusions.
If ten people witnessed a car accident, and you asked them for their opinion on what happened, you’d still have no idea what occurred. Ask those same ten people for their stories of what happened leading up to and after the accident, and you’ll get ten perspectives. Those ten perspectives will have some inconsistencies, but they will help you get closer to what actually happened. Compare, “I think the blue sports car was speeding” to “I had to pause crossing the road because the Cybertruck drove through the red light.” [I might have let an opinion slip into that example.😉]
So why am I going on about this now?
Well, somewhat embarrassingly, I have created a review page on our website. And reviews are usually just opinions.
But maybe they don’t have to be.
When you write a review, instead of your opinion, you could write a few sentences about what you experienced. In other words, write your story. What do you remember most about your experience? What did you hear? What affected you most? Why do you return?
The most opiniony1 part of the review is the star rating, and I’d remove that part if I could only write my own website code.🙄😀
So here’s the ask: If you’ve been to a Fish And Bear event, would you please leave us a review here?
And if you end up leaving a review that is a glowing opiniony one, I won’t judge you.
I promise.
It is my opinion2 that you will have a great time if you come to Fish And Bear at MacLeod’s on Thursday.
Hope to see you there.
Mark
xo
Fish and Bear is held every Thursday at 7pm.
Check out our WEBSITE:
https://fishandbear.net
If you fancy reading some of Lynn’s writing, then check out her weekly Notes From The Valley at lynnfergy.com
It is my opinion that opiniony is a word now!
Like most folks, my current opinions are the only ones that I consistently like. However, even my opinions are like bananas - they don’t age well.