A-ha!

With another year done, I've now gone two consecutive calendar years without changing a major opinion. It's as though I really am getting older. Though, there's nothing wrong with that; growing older continues to beat the alternative.

But I'm not yet ready to be one of those guys who has it all figured out and needn't budge on his stances. So for 2012 I'm resolving to do a little self-improvement and change at least one major opinion.

And, no, this won't include whatever decision I end up making about the Houston Astros and their pending move to the AL. As I see it, I won't be changing an opinion there; I'll merely be deciding which of the two I value more: my hometown team or legitimate baseball. Theoretically, that choice has always existed, it's that the universe has only recently conspired to force me to decide between the two.

No, I'm talking about a real, honest change of opinion, such as me joining a political party or coming to believe I have an everlasting soul—i.e., something big. The last time I changed my mind like that was in 2009, when I decided that economies are subsystems of the environment, rather than the other way around. That may not seem like much, but it's a mind-changer that has me still working through the consequences and re-figuring my stances on a lot of issues. But that re-figuring is all derivative work of the original change-of-mind from three years ago. Now I want another a-ha!

I have no idea what that change should be—which I think is the point. Craig-of-the-Present may see no immediate way to improve upon any of his ideas, but every Craig-of-the-Past thought similarly. And those Craigs proved to be, well, sadly mistaken about a lot of things. So it's foolish to suppose Craig-of-the-Present has it all figured out.

But I admit I don't know how to change my mind. (Does anyone?) That makes this resolution risky. Typically, a New Year's resolution is a test of willpower, such as making eating less enjoyable. But is it possible to will oneself to change one's mind? That seems impossible to me. Changing one's mind seems to be more a matter of luck, which is to say my resolution is in one way as stupid as a resolution to be struck by lightning. But my resolution has better odds—I've changed major opinions more years than I haven't—and I can improve the odds further by listening to and reading new, creative ideas rather than surrounding myself with old, stale ones. As for what comes of that, I'll let you know about 100 blog posts from now.