Opinions

The opinions with the most sincerity behind them are the ones that ""cost” something to hold.

For example, if I said I think brownies are the best dessert ever, there are definitely those who would disagree with me, but relatively few people would think me completely unreasonable. In another realm, if I said I didn’t think highly of Beyoncé’s music, well…that would definitely cost me some social points among many of my friends. (The truth is, I think some of her work is brilliant, but much of it is forgettable).

Maybe it’s a frivolous example, but the point still stands: you can trust an opinion more when it obviously costs someone (in terms of social status, regard, or some other metric) to hold it.