Quote:
Originally Posted by t13nif
o·pin·ion    /əˈpɪnyən/Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-pin-yuhn]Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun 1. a belief or judgment that rests on grounds insufficient to produce complete certainty. 2.a personal view, attitude, or appraisal.3.the formal expression of a professional judgment: to ask for a second medical opinion. 4. Law. the formal statement by a judge or court of the reasoning and the principles of law used in reaching a decision of a case. 5.a judgment or estimate of a person or thing with respect to character, merit, etc.: to forfeit someone's good opinion. 6.a favorable estimate; esteem: I haven't much of an opinion of him.
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Hey thanks. I always appreciate a good vocabulary lesson.
So...maybe I'm arguing something different than anyone else even saw or interpreted. Is it considered opinion when someone says "no way" something happened, "not possible"?
If you were having a discussion about gas prices and someone said "no way gas has ever been over $2 a gallon," would that still be considered an opinion?
Or, as I see it, does that cross the line from stating an opinion to stating an absolute, or something that could be perceived as fact (or what someone wants to be intrepreted as fact) which is therefore up to be proven or disproven?
IMO (aren't I funny? just a little bit?) there is a pretty significant difference between the intrepretation of these two sentences:
"I don't think anyone could have run a marathon with no bra because it would be uncomfortable"
and
"No way anyone could have run a marathon without a bra. It's not possible"
The first is obviously opinion. The second moves into absolutes and pretty close to verbiage used when stating fact, or at least that's how I see it.
Seriously. I'm genuinely interested if I may have just completely misunderstood this entire argument. Because I'm going on the notion that we had moved out the opinion realm, in the original thread, based on wording that was used, such as "no way" and "not possible." I don't consider that to be wording that is used to express an opinion. I consider those to be words people use to express fact.
Especially when they are used in a manner which is meant to validate an already expressed opinion. IMO, trying to validate an opinion kind of by definition means that you have moved into the stating facts zone.
Am I crazy? (And to save you the trouble, I don't mean because I can't quit this thread or because "I want everyone to agree with me and I'm mad that they don't" or some version thereof.) Or is there a distinct difference between stating opinion and fact?