thank you

I'm new to hubski but honestly? I expected thoughtful discussions rather than a juvenile emotional outburst

"Man is least himself when speaking in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will say the truth."

ps apropos of nothing, how do you block someone in hubski?

But you see that is the point, what one person may categorize as fiction, others may categorize as verifiable fact. That is the whole crux of the issue which you continue to miss completely.

> "That's not an opinion."

Of course it is an opinion. In fact, it is my opinion that it is an opinion :)

Also, I think you may be defining opinion different than almost everyone else, myself included. The generally accepted definition is that opinions are beliefs or judgements about observable reality.

And yes, such beliefs or judgements can be wrong.

As such, they are intimately intertwined with the concept of 'knowing'. That is, how does one differentiate between 'knowing a thing to be true' and 'believing that a thing is true'. This is where epistemology enters the discussion. And you are categorically wrong in opining that it is not 'really relevant' ;)

But you can have an opinion on an objectively verifiable fact. For example, it is raining outside and I say, "In my opinion it is not raining outside." Beyond that I think we would be twisting ourselves up in technicalities because when someone uses 'opinion' the way that this article refers to it, what they are really saying is 'I know' or the state of 'knowing'.

Hidden beneath this discussion is the real question: how do we know, what we claim to know? or more concisely: epistemology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology

It is a vast field and definitely worthy of exploration by everyone. Ideally university students would avail themselves of at least one course to learn the basics and begin to learn how to think. This is the most important aspect of higher education after all.