Perspective

If you find yourself at odds with somebody over a subjective topic, try looking at their stance from their perspective. Granted, this is difficult to do, especially for Sperbs. It takes us a long time to figure out that not everybody is as intelligent, organized, or specifically driven as we tend to be - then again, odds are very good we aren't as socially, physically or emotionally adept as they are.

There are other considerations such as gender, ethnicity/minority, economic standing, etc., that can affect a person's viewpoint that we may not even be able to appreciate, but giving it a fair try never hurts. (Of course, taking these factors into consideration should be done internally - verbally expressing "Well, since you're a poor black French muslim, I can understand your viewpoint" sounds - and is - quite bad.) You also want to avoid stereotyping, which I will address later, so this perspective thing is a nuanced art which can only be improved with practice.

Regardless, seeing other people's sides of an issue doesn't mean you have to agree with them, but it may help you understand why somebody you think is intelligent can sound so wrong on certain things.