To think "you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts"

[Fightyouforthatpie]

Is just another of those ridiculous trite phases trotted out by people who actually think their opinions are superior.

Of course like most of these trite phrases, one can't fault the logic.

Where it goes wrong it when the person posting it goes on to present "facts" that are actually opinions - or at least only one interpretation of the actual facts, or a one sided view that conveniently ignores any facts that don't suit the poster's narrative.

People will give different weighting to different facts to reach an opinion. And sometimes two opposite facts can be true, like when a literature review shows about half the articles reach one conclusion and the others reach the opposite. True conclusion: Sometimes no-one knows for sure.

You must move in different circles to me, never heard or seen this used, so I can't comment as to whether people misuse it. It sounds like a very sensible concept though, I hate people presenting their opinion as fact - happens here on MN with depressing frequency. So much misinformation spread as a result of it.

Though there are times when our own experience doesn't fit with the generally accepted facts. Yes, personal experience is anecdotal (but I'm a big fan of qualitative research), so not necessarily scientific but it will inform our truth, so the general facts don't mean the different facts of my experience are any less true or factual.

Yeah I see what you're saying @NotChristmasAlready. I think it therefore comes down to the situation in hand. I can say that being summer born didn't hold me back academically and that is fact. But it's also fact that summer born children are at a general disadvantage. Some people in my situation would say that the second fact is false due solely to their experience.

I think my point is more where people will say things like it's illegal to do X or you can't go to A&E for X when actually the facts are very different but the speaker is presenting their opinion as if it were a fact. Which is frustrating and potentially dangerous.

Some people are too stupid to realise they are in the wrong, so you do occasionally have to let them have their own opinions. Life's too short. 😂

The summer born example is a perfect example of what I mean. There are usually outliers and exceptions.

I understand what you are saying too. I guess an example from my own life is when I lost a lot of blood during childbirth and someone insisted it was impossible to lose that much blood and survive. Well, I did. No, impossible, they insisted. Yet here I am. So their facts say it's impossible yet my lived experience proves otherwise.