一篇ISSUE,求拍！
1"We can usually learn much more from people whose views we share than from people whose views contradict our own; disagreement can cause stress and inhibit learning."
Do we learn more from people whose view contradict our own, or from people whose views we share, like the speaker asserts? I agree insofar that undue disagreements might impede learning, however, to some extent opposing among different view points makes society advance.
On the one hand, we gain useful knowledge from those whose views we share because we learn in a peaceful environment without any arguments or disagreements, and people are more encouraged if their points of view are recognized by others. Admittedly, the speaker’s claim has merit when considering undue and negative disagreement, most of which can be seen in certain talking show program. People hold different opinions are shouting to each other to express their own thoughts without trying to find a common ground with or concede the merits of opponent’s viewpoints. When watching this type of TV shows, people always feel stressful and gain nothing useful but meaningless information. For that matter, opposition impedes learning.
However, disagreement motive people to learn more in order to improve him/herself and disprove others’ opinions, because the reason for disagreement is that people on both sides can not find a common point to agree on. This is especially obvious in school, when students have different opinions with other peers, they will read related books and materials to gain more sources and statistical details, or search on the internet-all of which inevitably make students expose to large quantity of information, to approve themselves and refute others. Without disagreement, the society won’t move forward with advance in technology which enables people to go to distant places much safer and speedy; advance in medicine which enhances people longevity, cure and prevent certain diseases; advance in computerization which helps people gain more knowledge about the world by clicking the mouse. These advances are result from disagreements that technicians, scientists, physicians always pursue to help the society make progress.
Moreover, art is essentially a call for a progress through contention. Passive agreement of established styles and forms quells the emergence of new art, and society would be worse off. History is replete with examples of key individuals who have a profound impact on the development of the artic works. Consider, for example, Charlie Parker, who is considered as one of the most influential jazz musicians, played a leading role in the development of bebop music characterized by fast tempo, virtuoso techniques, and improvisation based on harmonic structure. Parker’s challenge on established rules for harmony and melody enables him to create innovative approaches to melody, rhythm, and harmony which exercised enormous influence on his contemporaries. The importance of opposition is not limited to the art; there also has been a contention between psychologist and psychiatrist in the research of human behaviors. Former claims that the way people behave is largely influenced by immediate situation and external environment, yet latter argues that behavioral traits are manifest under the direct influence of the central nervous system. Undoubtedly, these and further discoveries will help solve certain pressing social problems, such as juvenile delinquency, mental illness, education, and so forth.
In the final analysis, learning from people whose ideas are in accord with our own helps people learn better, yet positive debate serves as a motivation for people to learn more and therefore enables a society to advance. However, people have to be careful to avoid undue discord, which only provides meaningless information and inhibit learning.
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