Imagined opinions of equal weight

It's always interesting to carry on a conversation with someone who begins talking and thinking that I, the other conversant, am on the same page with him. As it dawns on him that I am polar worlds apart, then I guess he feels betrayed because the defenses come up. People do that with me about the Bible frequently, but is more marked in the field of language. It is my experience that disagreement over time becomes contempt. So be it. If educational training has taught me anything, it has taught me to yield in an area I don't know much about, and to stand my ground in an area that I do. That principle rankles some people. They would like to have the same knowledge without any of the training. In fact, they imagine themselves as having equal training footing so that their opinion might count as much as a more informed or trained opinion.

In the end, one opinion counts as much as the next person's, especially in casual conversation.