important it is to talk to people that disagree with you. The idea of course is to gain perspective, to understand their positions and see if there is any validity to a claim or not.

True @meno. I have come to learn that that where there is nonsense. There is sense. Everyone's thought matters alot. There words or ideas I believe is THINKING OUT OF THE THOUGHT CIRCLE.
So as you have said, I have made sure to listen carefully, den I try to decipher the words and pick out the sense in what sounded senseless. I believe that was what made Albert Einstein ... him...
More grease to you elbow and more claity to your thoughts