what percent?

I recently heard Stephen Dubner say something along the lines of, the amazing things about humans is that we are not binary. We should be taking advantage of that.

We are not creatures that are either liberal or conservative. We are not either social or capitalist. We are not theists or atheists. We are percentages.

Next time you’re in a conversation - I’m going to practice this as well - and a topic comes up, don’t ask if you’re for or against, ask what percent?

What percent pro-life are you?
What percent gun control are you?
What percent socialist are you?
What percent pro-ICE are you?
What percent anti-tariffs are you?

You get it. Very few people are 100% anything. And that means that, even if there is an only 5% match on something, it could be worth exploring that 5%, compared to just arguing binaries that probably don’t exist.