my dear colleagues

i have a request:

i had a professor who asked us once to stop prefacing or summing up everything we said with "that's just what i think." he said that this made it sound like we didn't believe that we were saying anything important. plus, he said, it's kind of annoying. if you don't believe you, who will?

it's good advice.

i have noticed that a few people on one of the listserves i am currently on have the habit of discounting what they write in nearly every post, beginning or ending with things like "that's just what i think," or "just my thoughts." this bothers me tremendously. what you think is not "just" anything.

because i value what you're saying. i think the rest of the class does too. so stop telling us not to.

and i will try to follow my own advice, as well.