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Transcript
(Actually a pre-written script that I riffed from while recording the video.)
It’s no surprise that there are lots of opinions about technology. Both the tech itself, and the companies (and individuals) that make it. Some of those opinions are even strong. 
I hear a lot of them.
By and large, the opinions I hear at least all tend to generally align. By that, I mean they all tend to skew in the same direction. For example some might comment on a OneDrive issue with “Microsoft made a stupid decision” and others with “Microsoft’s the most evil company ever and they’re just trying to slurp up our data and extort more money from us.”
While they differ in strength and length, they’re at least pointing more or less in the same direction: Microsoft bad.
This week was interesting.
I published an article and video outlining my opinion that you don’t need to purchase a new machine because of Windows 11 new hardware requirements (there are options, including continuing to run Windows 10 safely). That topic has garnered the most diverse set of responses I can recall in recent memory.
On one end there are folks more-or-less agreeing with me — thanking me, even, for saying out loud what they’ve been thinking, planning, or even already experiencing directly since they disabled Windows 10 updates. I confirmed their pre-existing opinion, and they approved
At the other end of the spectrum were those who disagreed, sometimes intensely. Words like “irresponsible” were even being thrown around for my even sharing my opinion. Clearly I did not have the opinion that these folks have, or wanted me to have. They did not approve.
I find it all fascinating.
It’s a great example of how nothing is black or white. It’s all shades of gray, or even black AND white at the same time.
We all come into these situations with differing levels of experience, knowledge, and beliefs – yes, beliefs – that color our opinions, and our opinions on the opinions of others.
I call out the word “beliefs” because that’s what much is based on. It’s impossible to know beforehand, for example, whether the end of Windows 10 support will be a security nightmare, or a non-issue. That doesn’t prevent people from holding strong beliefs about what will happen.
And, as we know all too well, many people who hold strong beliefs are more than happy to rail against those who don’t feel the same way.
To be clear, this isn’t really related to my last chat on civility. Most of the responses I’m seeing are relatively civil. There aren’t many really being dicks about it. But there are some very strong opinions being shared.
My takeaway for you is this: particularly when you see wildly diverging opinions on a topic, pay attention.
Resist the urge to dig in defending yours. It’s hard not to — trust me — but the fact those other opinions exist might be telling you something.
And if you’re coming into the discussion without a pre-existing opinion, take the time to examine both sides, both on the merits, and your understanding of who warrants your trust.
Differing opinions are important. As Robert Heinlein said, “I never learned from a man who agreed with me.” Keep up the good work, Leo.