Don't Mention the War
There are two subjects that people traditionally get excessively worked up about: politics and religion. It’s best to avoid these subjects unless you know your co–conversationalists can cope with being told they’re wrong.
Everything is Borrowed
No–one ever has an original idea. That’s a slight exaggeration, but it’s important to understand that however amazing and original an idea may seem, you almost certainly got it from someone else. Unless you are perhaps Einstein or Newton or Plato, every idea you have is borrowed. Ideas are lodgers in your brain, and you shouldn’t get too attached to them.
It’s All Wrong
Not only is almost every idea not original, but almost every idea that almost everyone has ever had about almost everything is wrong. Even Einstein, Newton and Plato got almost everything wrong in some way, and if they got things wrong, what are the chances that a particular temporary resident in your humble brain happens to be correct?
Question Everything
Politics and religion deal with questions of how the world is and how it ought to be. For some reason, people seem to take these topics personally, as if these types of ideas help to define who their owners are. Because they take the ideas personally, they are reluctant to let go of them, or even to question them.
But if you don’t question an idea, you can’t tell how accurately it represents the world. You’re guessing, not thinking. Every idea must be questioned. If people are unwilling to question ‘their’ ideas, there’s not much to be gained from discussing those ideas.