As most of you have probably already noticed, conversation during dates, particularly of the blind category, can be a treacherous affair.

There is an old saying that when meeting someone new, there are two conversation topics that should be avoided: politics and religion.

Now depending on which part of the world you're in, Religion does not really fit the bill anymore. In North America, religious views are considered personally held beliefs and religion can be discussed safely with almost anyone at any time. That may not be the case if you are living in the Middle East, for example.

Politics are an entirely different thing. Whether we like it or not, our entire lives are governed by politics, especially in the long run. The choice of a particular government NOW means nothing in our day to day lives, but it will have a major impact on the lives of our children.

People tend to hold extreme views about politics, and anything that lends itself to grand exclusionary statements should be avoided as a conversation topic on a date.

In keeping with wanting to avoid conversation that may lead to conflict and a ruined date, here are a couple of other topics that should be avoided:

• Global Warming -- The "consensus" is not what it used to be
• Abortion -- This should be obvious. No other topic creates so much discord

In general, keep to safe topics where a disagreement will always be perceived as an innocent difference of opinion, such as work, the weather, hobbies and outdoors activities.

This advice is particularly relevant if you belong to a group that doesn't follow the herd. If you believe firmly in Global Warming, then there is little harm in bringing it up, since the odds that your date has the same beliefs are pretty good. If, on the other hand, you believe that it is a sham, then you will be better off shutting up about it until you establish a comfort level with your date that will enable you to talk about controversial topics without fear of ruining everything.