Polarization is defined as “the concentration about opposing extremes.” The term often is used in a scientific text to decribe atoms, molecules or ions gathered in a group. There also is another meaning of polarization that applies to people. The exact wording of the definition varies, but it basically describes those with the black and white attitude of “all or nothing.”

Too many people today are so wrapped up in their own viewpoints—or convictions, if you will—that they cannot even begin to see how someone with an opposing view might see a situation. As a result, there are endless disputes and countless misunderstandings between people with directly opposite viewpoints.

Take, for example, Ronald Reagan. Either he is praised or scorned depending on who is doing the talking. There are plenty of people who say he is a genius for reducing inflation just as there are scores who call him an idiot for the Iran-Contra affair. Not too many see him for a little bit of both. Like any other president, he has had his share of ups and downs. To categorize him as a complete success or a total failure would be incorrect and unfair.

Polarization of viewpoints and their nature of all or nothing oftentimes sets total strangers at odds with one another. I can’t remember all the arguments I have heard, on the bus, in class or even at parties, about whether we should tar and feather Reagan or make his birthday a national holiday.

Polarization takes many shapes in other aspects of life as well. I’m sure many of us know students who are so committed to one thing or another that they have no life outside of it. For instance, many students spend their entire college experience wrapped up in their classes and their grades. Regardless of what grades these students get, many of them wake up midway through their eighth semester to find out that college is just about over and they missed all the fun.

Similarly, there are many who found that after seven semesters of partying they have no job lined up and college transcripts which would make most personnel managers yawn.

Both types of students had points of view that were just too extreme to be viable. Neither type of student can incorporate some of the other’s outlook into his own. Consequently, neither can see that the other’s lifestyle had anything positive or rewarding to offer. As a result, both types of students choose to follow their own instincts to an extreme and neither has a complete college experience.

Attitudes like this also tend to show up in the cause/effect analogies that everyone makes. I’ve heard more than one student scream, “I didn’t get a good grade in class because my professor hates me.” However, not too many give the real story, which includes not reading the assigned text or missing class time again and again due to overwhelming hangovers. Attributing anything to one cause is a perfect example of an incomplete train of thought. It also vividly reflects the notion of an “all or nothing” attitude.

An all or nothing viewpoint is the unfortunate byproduct of narrow attitudes and the lack of understanding the other guy’s perspective. Many times, the lack of information and personal bias result in assertions or stances that we know are wrong but we continue to support. Is there anyone out there who can’t remember a time when he/she was in an argument and gradually realized the other guy was right yet continued to argue anyway? It is the strong one-way attitude that prevents us from admitting we are wrong or do not understand a particular situation.

What many people simply fail to realize is that there are two sides to every story. Extremism in any direction makes no sense. Some feel that their viewpoint is correct and that everyone else’s is wrong. Even a part of an alternate opinion is not even considered by many and that is where the problem lies. More often than not, the truth of a situation or the answer to a problem lies in the middle of two polarized attitudes competing with one another.