“I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion.’ Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself, maybe to head off an argument or bring one to a close. Well, as soon as you walk into this room, it’s no longer true. You are not entitled to your opinion. You are only entitled to what you can argue for.”

This speaks loudly to me especially in today's polarized world. If you stand firm in your beliefs and attempt to open a dialogue with someone who disagrees, agreeing to disagree won't always end the argument. We all have opinions that our unique to our own ideology. Differing opinions can inadvertently cause upset without intention.

"Meryl Dorey is the leader of the Australian Vaccination Network, which despite the name is vehemently anti-vaccine. Ms. Dorey has no medical qualifications, but argues (Links to an external site.) that if Bob Brown is allowed to comment on nuclear power despite not being a scientist, she should be allowed to comment on vaccines. But no-one assumes Dr. Brown is an authority on the physics of nuclear fission; his job is to comment on the policy responses to the science, not the science itself."

Opinions do not surpass facts. Information becomes readily misinterpreted when opinion is perceived as factual. The author expressed an example above outlining how a person speaking based on opinion versus fact can mislead the reader or listener.

"But this implies an equal right to be heard on a matter in which only one of the two parties has the relevant expertise. Again, if this was about policy responses to science, this would be reasonable."

A non-expert should be careful with how they speak in terms of information they share. Experience is relevant however having facts to illustrate and confirm what is being portrayed is crucial. It is very easy to mislead and proves just how powerful words can be.

"Mediawatch host Jonathan Holmes was considerably more blunt: “there’s evidence, and there’s bulldust (Links to an external site.),” and it’s not part of a reporter’s job to give bulldust equal time with serious expertise"

Mr. Holmes was attempting to reaffirm that evidence based facts and expertise can far outweigh the opinions of someone sharing unfounded statements lacking credibility and facts.

"So next time you hear someone declare they’re entitled to their opinion, ask them why they think that. Chances are, if nothing else, you’ll end up having a more enjoyable conversation that way."

Fact versus fiction is relevant and needs to be on the forefront of differing opinions. We can have our own opinions however to argue them effectively, research should be done and misinformation should not be the catalyst of the argument despite how accurate you feel you are. An open, healthy dialogue allows for research based facts to support evidence versus what a person feels is correct.