The world is full of wiseacres. They can range from actual doctors — people so widely versed on a subject they’re expected to teach it to others — to real attendees of the school of life. The vast majority of them smarty-pants, however, are buzz feeders who know just the way to survive a zombie invasion.

Everybody has a piece of advice to give and that is okay; not all experiences are the same and it is always nice to avoid broken bones based on a tip offered by someone in a plaster cast. Besides, a word of warning is easy to hand out and free to pick up, so there’s always the option to receive it, acknowledge it and then throw it away like a flyer.

The problem is that those who claim to know something don’t always consider the different paths individuals can and do take. For them their conclusion on any matter is the absolute truth and the only way to succeed; they know the whys and the how-tos and “the” six different ways to remove grey matter from a wall.

“Opinion is the medium between knowledge and ignorance.” — Plato

Please don’t get this wrong: a good article explaining a wise or effective or fun way to do something has a lot of value. As stated above, this is one way to pass on experience. It only gets awkward when the interpretation of this experience sounds imposing — the more reason to get upset, for this is the determinant base for many things that succeed on the internet.

That is because most people want to be told what to do, and will rely on anyone able to show them only the bright side of things. Posts “explaining” why one should eat more carrots, for example, get so much readers because they number the benefits of it disregarding the fact that some people might be allergic to the color orange. If such thing made the author a better person then it must be the right thing to do.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion — even better: everyone should develop their own view on things — and the freedom to express it publicly is a universal right in most countries. However it is silly and selfish to expect a personal assumption to be the final idea on anything. A doctor doesn’t do it (even though they can), so the guy who found out the best position to sit in the toilet should avoid this egotistical approach too.

“Yeah well, you know, that’s just like your opinion man.” — The Dude

Of course, everyone does it at one point or another. Some do it a lot. We live in our heads and the concept of shared knowledge is difficult to grasp. This very post is a not-so-veiled attempt to prove a point and somehow convince other people to do the “right” thing. It’s only human, this comportment. The same way the capacity to absorb ideas and form a new, unique one also is (or at least should be).

Writing an article on how to make a “why” post is lazy. Listing the reasons why a tutorial can save lives is opportunistic. Go out instead. Get an idea and develop it based on your beliefs, then if people click on it, like it or follow it will be the least important thing. What matters is being true to oneself; this is the only way not to bore everyone.