Originally published at: http://www.agileuprising.com/beyond-dogmatism-6-ways-to-move-towards-understanding/
Consider the following questions: Have you ever had those conversations where it felt as if you were standing on a mountain hollering at the sky? Had a debate where there was there a lot of noise and no understanding? Or witnessed two people so entrenched in their positions that nothing could be gained? Both had…
Beyond dogmatism: 6 ways to move towards understanding
bradstokes
#1
kschlabach
#2
In my current company, if I want to troll… I can spawn off a 45 minutes flame-fest by asking in the kitchen during lunch the definition of “fast food” and letting them argue it out. AND, I could repeat this every week with nobody getting tired of the topic.
So… yeah, I know better than to let the “tabs vs. spaces” debate fire up.
JayH
#3
Fast food is Burger King, McDonalds, Wendys, etc. Chipotle, etc. is fast casual. Anyone who disagrees is obviously a savage.
Spaces>tabs.
Scrummando
#5
bradstokes
#6
Thank you for the inspiration, and @andycleff for the editing.
I’ve been mulling it over for a while. I don’t think I’m the only one. @JayHorsecow’s article The Balkanization of Agile suggests he has been dwelling on it as well to some degree.
Should I add Pepsi vs Coke or Sriracha vs Tabasco?
I vote Coke and Sriracha.
EDIT: Though not together, that would be pretty terrible.
JayH
#7
Great read @bradstokes, and timely. Nothing positive comes out of shooting other people and their ideas down and if people with disagreements followed your suggestions we might end up with better conversation. As an example, I would love to see a mature intelligent debate around the #noestimates movement. There’s strong opinions for and against, and I think a proper debate may spark some interesting discussion.
This topic is especially relevant in the States where our political climate has become so “us vs. them” and toxic that the two sides refuse to engage with each other in a productive manner. The two sides have more in common than they realize, and if they acknowledged that we might end up with more positive dialog. As for improving the quality of our elected politicians…I won’t hold my breath .