On forming opinions

In my last post, I wrote that veganism is so bewildering that most adults struggle to engage with it

I started thinking about what might stop someone from deviating from what's considered a normal opinion

It's not doing me any favours to admit this, but I was an edgy teenager. Growing up absorbing 2010-era youtube atheism and reddit must have molded our brains in some strange way that deserves to be studied

There are some useful habits that stuck around though, such as questioning the world around you and having recursive arguments with yourself like some kind of reddit thread tetris effect

Falling into atheism and veganism followed the same script for me: encouter something that challenges what you had accepted but not particularly paid attention to about the world around you (belief in my area's dominant religion or the normalcy of animals reduced to products, respectively), look around on the internet for some discussions or deep dives and start to form your own opinion. Rinse and repeat until you stop finding it challenging

I'm sure there are plenty of topics where I fail to engage, but being generally curious and willing to keep an open mind just feels like an essential part of life

How other people form opinions is still a mystery to me. I'll keep you posted if I find out!