Again, how much is 2 + 2? Suppose Joseph says: 2 + 2 = purple, while Maxwell says: 2 + 2 = 17. Both are wrong but isn’t it fair to say that Joseph is wronger than Maxwell? Suppose you said: 2 + 2 = an integer. You’d be right, wouldn’t you? Or suppose you said: 2 + 2 = an even integer. You’d be righter. Or suppose you said: 2 + 2 = 3.999. Wouldn’t you be nearly right?
Those lines are taken from Isaac Asimov‘s article, The Relativity of Wrong. Though Asimov is talking in a context that is entirely (nearly?) unrelated to that of this article, I still stand by my argument (wait for it) that it is an appropriate extension.
So many among us consider the ability to segregate into black and white, a mark of greatness; principled even, if I dare go that far. I’ll let you use your imagination/memory to find at least one person you know whom you can classify as black and white. Now stop. What is your opinion of this person? Think it over. Now let me take a series of calculated guesses and extrapolations.
You respect their decisions. You think them principled. Virtuous. Stable. Dependable. I could go on with this list, but I hope to have made the first point. This is the common perception.
I detest such righteous people with a vengeance. Not least for the lack of vision that they possess. The conviction with which they impose their myopic principles on me pushes me into corners I’d rather not be in. I see life in grays. Right and wrong are not set in stone for me. I adapt.
My principles in life are simple. There are no principles. There are emotions, feelings, instincts. All of which play an intense role in my decision making process. My decisions are fragile initially as I play with them. I poke at the edges, push at envelopes, look at what breaks, make a note of what is immutable or nearly so. I look at the patterns. It takes a while for the big picture to set in. Several times within this process, I may change my entire perspective.
Wait, isn’t this the classic definition of indecision?, you may be thinking. Not at all. I’m not undecided. I’m merely open to different interpretations of the same decision. I don’t base my decision on any one/two corner stone parameters. If sometime in the future, they turn out to be wrong, I don’t want my whole tree of reason to collapse in on me. My decisions have layers, multiple pivot points, if you will. If something/someone proves me wrong in one direction, I have other avenues left to build upon again.
You never absolutely right or wrong. Merely more right, less wrong, and it’s derivatives. Never let someone convince you otherwise. The greys in life are frequently more beautiful than all the blacks and whites put together. Live in them, accept them, deal with them. You’ll be richer for it.