what if the other person just does this
I completely disagree with the idea that “you either reinforce ideas you already know, or you are wrong and learn something new.” That presents an overly neat, binary version of how knowledge and thinking actually work. First of all, not all reinforcement is a good thing — sometimes people reinforce bad ideas simply because they confirm their biases. Just because you “already know” something doesn’t mean it’s right or even well-founded. Reinforcing beliefs without challenging them critically leads to echo chambers, not understanding.
And the idea that being wrong always leads to learning? That’s idealistic. People are wrong constantly and don't change their views — not because the truth isn’t available, but because learning is often emotional, inconvenient, or requires reworking identity. In fact, people are more likely to double down on wrong beliefs if challenged aggressively, because of cognitive dissonance and the backfire effect. There’s also no guarantee that what you “learn” when you’re wrong is actually accurate — you might just pick up a new wrong idea. So this whole “if wrong → knowledge” formula is dangerously simplistic.
Then there’s your admission that you “start arguments about stuff you have no idea about and research it as you go.” That sounds adventurous, sure, and I respect curiosity — but it’s also a strategy that can backfire badly. Wading into arguments without any foundation means you risk reinforcing shallow takes, misunderstanding core concepts, or spreading misinformation. It’s easy to cherry-pick sources that confirm whatever side you're improvising, especially under pressure. Learning during an argument isn’t guaranteed — sometimes you just get better at sounding right, not being right.
So no, it’s not just “reinforce or learn.” Sometimes you reinforce the wrong thing. Sometimes you’re wrong and stay that way. Sometimes you argue, and instead of learning, you just entrench nonsense. Learning is a skill, not an automatic outcome. Thinking in binaries like this does more harm than good.