Here’s the raw truth, as I understand it. I’m one of the people who has used this phrase. Typically I pull it out when I absolutely lack the ability to explain and verbalize something in a way that the intended audience can understand and accept. Yes, it’s a failing on my part, but also, despite what everyone wants to believe, not everything can be distilled down to a simple easily understandable explanation without losing the message. You’ll probably understand when you get older.
Realistically, it’s not so much a guarantee that you’ll understand the exact nature of what I’m saying when you’re older. It’s more that when you’re older, you’re probably going to be more willing to accept that I have my own perfectly valid reasons, even if I can’t articulate them effectively, that the world is complicated, and sometimes it’s those complicated and difficult to articulate threads that are actually the only things holding everything together. So, when I say you’ll understand when you’re older, I might not mean that in the most literal sense, it’s very likely that I’m speaking more in a metaphorical way.
My response would be that if you cannot explain your position, then you cannot defend it, and therefore you do not understand it yourself. This implies that you are simply feeling you way into your position using gut instincts, which are easily created and manipulated without a reasonably sound argument. An ad on TV, a op-ed piece only half heard, a slew of biased headlines, and more all contribute to these gut feelings without providing a rational base.
In short, I reject your claim that complicated positions cannot be explained. Yes, many can’t be easily explained, but you should still be able to explain and defend them.
So when the position is challenged and you can’t defend it because you have only these gut feelings at the core, you fall back on the belief that anyone would have the same feelings eventually. This is, of course, not true.
Here’s the raw truth, as I understand it. I’m one of the people who has used this phrase. Typically I pull it out when I absolutely lack the ability to explain and verbalize something in a way that the intended audience can understand and accept. Yes, it’s a failing on my part, but also, despite what everyone wants to believe, not everything can be distilled down to a simple easily understandable explanation without losing the message. You’ll probably understand when you get older.
Realistically, it’s not so much a guarantee that you’ll understand the exact nature of what I’m saying when you’re older. It’s more that when you’re older, you’re probably going to be more willing to accept that I have my own perfectly valid reasons, even if I can’t articulate them effectively, that the world is complicated, and sometimes it’s those complicated and difficult to articulate threads that are actually the only things holding everything together. So, when I say you’ll understand when you’re older, I might not mean that in the most literal sense, it’s very likely that I’m speaking more in a metaphorical way.
My response would be that if you cannot explain your position, then you cannot defend it, and therefore you do not understand it yourself. This implies that you are simply feeling you way into your position using gut instincts, which are easily created and manipulated without a reasonably sound argument. An ad on TV, a op-ed piece only half heard, a slew of biased headlines, and more all contribute to these gut feelings without providing a rational base.
In short, I reject your claim that complicated positions cannot be explained. Yes, many can’t be easily explained, but you should still be able to explain and defend them.
So when the position is challenged and you can’t defend it because you have only these gut feelings at the core, you fall back on the belief that anyone would have the same feelings eventually. This is, of course, not true.