Research can change even the most stubborn of minds, including mine.

In today’s society, everyone seems to think they are right in whatever they think or do. Obviously this can’t be true but the stubbornness of people these days is astounding. No one is willing to do the research to check their facts; they just automatically think they’re right and you’re wrong and that’s that. Well, this is just not so. Coming from one of the most stubborn people on this planet, I too have fallen into the trap where research has proven me wrong and therefore changed my view about the importance of research.

Let’s start with an example that can relate to everyone. Let’s start with the world. It is common knowledge that the world was first believed to be flat. Even this piece of information is false. No one had ever stated that they believed the world to be flat. One originally thought the world to be dome shaped or a sort of pillar of salt. This was proved wrong by Magellan but completely unintentionally. Magellan decided to see if one could sail around the world and in the process learned that the world is indeed round.

On a more personal level, I pride myself in being a music snob. I’ll admit that if I have made my mind up about a band or piece of music then it takes a lot to convince me otherwise. Now, until very recently I believed The Mama’s and the Papa’s to be quite lame. They were a band my mother listened to in the glory days and since my mother refuses to listen to my music I just wrote them off immediately. My dad, someone who I almost always agree with on the topic of music, tried to tell me otherwise. He explained that many of the bands that I currently enjoy would not be in existence if it were not for The Mama’s and the Papa’s. He also explained that “Creeque Alley” was an extremely historical song in the realm of music. I, of course, did not believe him until I started watching movies such as “Taking Woodstock” and “Almost Famous.” And then once I finally did some research on the subject I actually realized that I can learn a lot from this band and they are now one of my all time favorites.

Research, while it may be tedious, is important when it comes to knowing your stance on a topic. Most people are set in their own ways and I include myself in that statement, but if we don’t have facts to back up our arguments they mean nothing. And it is through finding these facts that we can possibly change our whole outlook on the subject. Whether it is discovering things about the world by accident or music you never gave a chance, research makes decision-making more clear and accurate if only we take the time to learn.