Global humility thread: IMHO, why is humility a virtue?, etc

Off-topic
1

This thread is the file for anything having to do with humility.

Hopefully, someone can tell me why humility is a virtue.

The abbreviation IMHO = in my humble opinion.

What information does this truly add?

It’s widely held that people who use IMHO are actually quite arrogant. There arrogance is seen in their assumption the reader might be so dense as to fail to distinguish opinion from fact.

What’s the difference between saying:

Raphael clothes his arrogance in humility.

vs.

IMHO, Raphael clothes his arrogance in humility.

Reading the first, I might mistakenly assume that if I looked up the Wikipedia entry for Raphael, among other facts listed about him (unicycle tattoo on his right calf, organizer of LBI Unithon, librarian, genious IQ, gatherer of interesting articles on unicycles, appreciates Pirsig, etc.), one might also find: Raphael clothes his arrogance in humility.

In the second case, where the IMHO has been added, thankfully we can distinguish fact from opinion. What we do without IMHO?

Disclaimer: The “Raphael” used in the example above is a fictitious person. Any resemblance to a real person is purely coincidental.

Headline: The most intelligent person in the world has been identified! From a pool of candidates nominated for the reality of being the most intelligent person in the world, a group of experts has singled out the most intelligent person in the world.

In the past this person had been considered arrogant, but now that it’s estagblished that she is the most intelligent person in the world, we have to retract that “arrogant” label and recognize she is truly humble.

Humility is having an accurate self-perception. That’s why it’s a virtue. It’s no virtue to undervalue yourself.

ladies and gentleman, allow me to introduce you to the most intelligent person in the world!!

2

You like to think alot.
I never gave “IMHO” a second thought before I read this, now I will always notice it whereas before this instance I would have just read stright (over?) it. Thought provoking in the least…

3

opinion is so often stated as fact on the internet that i think marking that you recognise that what you state is only your opinion is quite valid.

4

Global humility?

America! **** yeah!

480×676 85.9 KB

:wink:

5

It is my experience that humility serves one single important function. It increases the odds that what one has to say will be heard. Without humility meaningful dialog is impossible.

Arrogance may get one laid, promotions at work, and may silence your adversaries. But it is unlikely to bring people together to serve the common good.

If one’s goal is simply to have one’s point made, then humility is inessential. If one’s goal is to accomplish something, then it is a useful addition to the toolbox.

6

Humility. Who would have thought?

Proverbs 18:12 (NIV) Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.

7

In My Honest Opinion.
In My Honored Opinion.

8

Greg,

Of course you need not say In My Honored Opinion.

It’s implied simply because it comes from you, Most Honored Opinion Giver.

Billy

IMHO, you should have prefaced this with IMHO.

Riigghht!

Didn’t Bush use so much humility to accomplish the invasion of Iraq and bankrupt the nation?

Billy

9

Humility is a virtue.

I am more humble than you.

:smiley:

10

“Humility is a quality or characteristic ascribed to a person who is considered to be humble. A humble person is generally thought to be unpretentious and modest: someone who does not think that he or she is better or more skilled than others. …”

If the world’s top unicyclist did not think he or she was better at it than anyone else, he or she would be wrong but also humble?

Does this mean having inaccurately low self value is a virtue?

I don’t get it.

11

Did you come up with that yourself, John?! That’s brilliantly funny, witty yet with just the right touch of whatever.

Here’s a hilarious one I thought of myself, I like to ask unicyclists: Where’s your other wheel? :smiley: ROFLOL

Billy

12

How come the idioms “Eating humble pie” and “Eating crow” mean essentially the same thing?

What else can you put in a humble pie besides crow?

13

You could include some of the egg you wipe from your face…

14

Hold it! Isn’t egg pie just another name for quiche? What kind of real man would eat quiche? That would be humbling.

15

I thought of that first.

16

Humble pie, actually comes from the word umbles, meaning less than desirable bits of the animal. Never heard of ‘eating crow’.

Another classic example is ‘eat my hat’, deriving from hatte, a highly undesirable dish.

17

thats quite a convincing argument ya got there billy
also,
all these humble facts (that statement is context sensitive) are quite interesting