My favorite moments in life are when someone shows me a new perspective — a way of thinking I had never considered.

Ideally it’s something I opposed, but they help me understand why it works for them.

The sex worker explains why she loves her job.The Singaporean in the three-piece-suit explains why clothing is like the SMTP protocol.The Hindu explains why poverty doesn’t upset her.The Muslim explains why Islamic law is a perfect recipe for peace.The hedonist justifies her partying, and tells me the most heart-warming explanation for her ugly tattoo.

These conversations are the most memorable — the most life-changing — because I get a personal introduction to a mindset — a walk-through of a thought process.I get to understand their reasoning.

Then those people I thought were wrong, stupid, or crazy suddenly make sense.

Thinking that people are stupid is not thinking.Understanding them is.

I never want to debate, but if I had to, I would hope to lose.I don’t want to convince anyone of my existing perspective.I would rather be convinced of theirs.It’s more interesting to assume that they are right.