Quote:
Originally posted by ishmit2004
It is better to not speak and leave people wondering if you are stupid than to speak and remove all doubt.
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Damn! Exactly what I was going to say.
Kind of a variation: "Think before you speak."
Maybe it's just because I am in academia, but I seem to encounter people who speak without thinking all the time. When I am in a discussion, academic or otherwise, I TRY to review all my comments in my head before I express them to others. I ask myself:
"Will my comment contribute anything useful to the discussion?",
"Are there many weaknesses in my argument?"
"Will my comment make me look like an ass?"
If I conclude that my comments may be useful, are not fraught with logical errors, and won't make me look like an ass, I speak.
Of course, I'm not perfect. I TRY to do these things. Mostly, I focus on not looking like an ass. I often fail.