What is the best way to deal with ignorant people?

Say hey that's an interesting point and I read somewhere that (explain counter-point)..how do you feel about that? And then see what they say. If they dismiss everything and go asshole mode figure out if this person is someone you want to be friends with. If you do say alright hmmm okay and then change the subject. If you don't want to be friends then either keep countering their points or say well that's just like your opinion, man. If they get pissed then you can say that they need to realize that not everyone has lived through the same exact experiences with the same exact upbringing, beliefs, etc. therefore no one looks at the world in exactly the same way. You can't measure the accuracy of opinions because you aren't showing proof. In order to prove something is right you need to have a counter argument proving that the opposite is wrong. For instance, on the topic of religion, people often think their religion is THE religion and say ",I don't get why people believe in god?" You can't prove a negative unless instead you prove the corresponding positive. So for them to prove that "god doesn't exist", you have to prove he does. We don't know what God is, and even among the people that think they know, they have defined God in such a way that God's existence cannot be tested. And when the existence of something cannot be tested, it cannot be proven by science. So proving the existence of God through science will never happen. Nor will disproving the existence of God through science. The best science can do is come up with reasons why we should believe, or plausible alternative possibilities for why we are here, how we got here, why the earth is organized as it is, how the earth just happens to tilt at 23.4 degrees, and why mankind is generally moral. You can have faith in God. You can't prove faith. Faith is a human characteristic dependent on your perception of reality. A proof is evidence, a demonstration or a logical argument - all independent of your perception. Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. So believing in him makes just as much sense as not believing in him. Realize that not a single person has grown up with the same morals, understandings and beliefs as you. People are going to base what they believe in on their own perception. But in the end no one is correct because you can't prove something is right when you can't technically prove that it is wrong. But I usually just go with “Hey that’s like your opinion, man."

/r/AskReddit Thread