LaraLoves being right all the time.

Have you ever smelt the pages of a new book? High quality GSM and fresh ink. Some people love the quiet of bookshops, but, for me there is a white noise, like the covers are muffling all the words within. I always feel a little ripple of anticipation, all the things I could be, if I could obtain all the information those pages hold. 

I know what you're thinking, first cake addiction, now sniffing around bookshops for a kick; get this girl a hobby. But therein lies the problem; I follow fashion, I work in and watch sport, I'm interested in politics, I'm a fitness fanatic, I love to bake and I am epistemically curious about all of those subjects and more. Part of my sniffing around bookshops, reading blogs, listening to podcasts, following people on twitter, is partially fueled by the practicality of needing to..... know my shit, and partially by an embarrassing personality trait which drives me to speak with utter conviction about everything. My parents said that my choosing to study Law, was simply a means of improving my chances of being right all the time. 

A degree that requires you to be able to back up your argument with precedent or fact and to always question the validity of information you're given, was pretty useful for someone who is innately gullible. Law gave me the ability to research, and to question everything. In terms of law this is pretty fucking dull stuff, but in our modern age where everyone and their dog (literally) has twitter and instagram and believes their entitled to their opinion...it's useful. I mean look no further than @KTHopkins 

I’m sure you’ve heard the expression ‘everyone is entitled to their opinion.’ Perhaps you’ve even said it yourself, maybe to head off an argument or bring one to a close. Well, despite you having a platform such as Twitter to voice your opinion, you're actually only entitled to what you can argue for. If “everyone’s entitled to their opinion” just means no-one has the right to stop people thinking and saying whatever they want, then the statement is true, but fairly trivial. No one can stop you saying that being gluten free is healthier, despite the little evidence there is to corroborate your claims. But if ‘entitled to an opinion’ means ‘entitled to have your views treated as serious candidates for the truth’ then it’s pretty clearly false. Jane Austen said “To yield readily--easily--to the persuasion of a friend is no merit.... To yield without conviction is no compliment to the understanding of either.” 

I recently had an 'opinion exchange' with a friend over the merits, or lack thereof, of social media, or even the internet more widely. For me, Twitter and instagram hold that same potential as a bookshop; thousands of opinions, on thousands of topics, thousands of authors each with a unique life story that informs that opinion. Access to journalists and CEO's and Sport-stars and celebrities, teachers, doctors, directors, politicians and charity workers; all sharing links to articles and pictures and videos and their thoughts on the same. Breathe. 

Twitter also presents the same pitfalls as a bookshop; are you buying intelligent, researched, well crafted prose or the hype that surrounds that authors' new fifty shades of complete BS? 

There are a lot of inane 140 character entries, some used for abuse, for hate, for inane updates on uses for cauliflower (just eat a regular pizza), for, as my opponent in this debate phrased it; "useless gossip". This one from Women's Health (a supposed font of knowledge in fitness) really made me laugh over Christmas...

WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?! There are some really great fitness professionals out there with years of experience, creating great content. But the internet is also full of opinion masquerading as fact.  If you're in doubt, question everything... and go buy a book.