Subjective

Question

What is the difference between being subjective and objective? Can you explain that with examples?

MountainHiker · Accepted Answer

Subjective...

1) I think she is very pretty.

(I like her and this is my opinion only...my opinion has my personal biases...subjective)

Objective

2) The fashion model talent scout said she was okay, but not extremely pretty.

(The talent scout sees hundreds of young hopeful women every month who want to become fashion models. He is a professional who is unbiased. He doesn't care if a particular girl is a fashion model or not. Instead, he is looking at the potential of that model making him money. He's objective. He has no biases.)

Or you could think of a house. You might subjectively value your house at a much greater value than an objective professional appraiser will. You are positively biased, whereas the appraiser is neutral and is relying on his professional knowledge and skills as his guide.

In short, think of subjective as a personal opinion which might have personal biases. Think of objective as unbiased.

One important detail: subjective and objective don't necessarily speak to the accuracy, only on how the opinion was formed. For example, my "subjective" valuation of my house might be closer to the truth than the objective valuation of the appraiser. Once the house is sold, we can go back and see which person (me or the appraiser) was closer to the correct answer. But my estimate is still "subjective" as I will be biased (or thought to be biased), whereas the appriaser is thought to be unbiased and thus objective.

This is sort of like "qualitative and quantitative". Qualitative is opinion based. Quantative is supported by numbers and facts.

Qualitative: My house is worth a lot of money, probably more than my neighbor's house.

Quantitative: My neighbor's house is worth $*** dollars according the average of the three most recent appraisals.

This is a long-winded explanation. I hope it helps.

C4f4_dev · Answer

respect...<img class='emoticon' style='Width:19px;Height:19px;' data-delaysrc='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' src='https://uat-englishforward-forums-backend.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/Emoticons/1.gif' alt='Emotion: smile'/>

PASTEL · Answer

It's very clear, MountainHiker. Thank you.

Subjective

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