On discussion

It is often asserted that discussion is only possible between people who have a common language and accept common basic assumptions.

I think that this is a mistake.

All that is needed is a readiness to learn from one's partner in the discussion, which includes a genuine wish to understand what he intends to say.

If this readiness is there, the discussion will be the more fruitful the more the partner's backgrounds differ.

---Karl Popper (1902 - 1994), Austrian Born Philosopher