opinion
/əˈpɪnjən/
verb
1. a view or judgement formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge.
“that, in my opinion, is right“
2. a statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter.
“if in doubt, get a second opinion
One of the problems with opinions is that everybody has one. And now as a school of ‘opinion’ develops across the pond that conflates lies with facts, I am reminded again of the wisdom of Michael Graham, who wrote in 1943 that:
“To build up an informed opinion is a matter of some difficulty: not in the opinion part of it, because the public frequently shows itself very opinionated on the slenderest of information. The difficulty rather lies in making sure the opinion is well-informed.”
Postscript: I could have sworn that it was the late-lamented football manager Brian Clough who said to his namesake commentator, Brian Moore: “Let’s face it Brian, we’re all entitled to our opinions, but it’s my opinion that counts”, however, I can’t find any reference to it! On reflection it seems that one of the most memorable quotes from my teens was simply a conceit of the TV impressionist Mike Yarwood.
