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Orpheus
Skeptic Friend
92 Posts |
 Posted - 07/05/2001 : 03:31:35
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I was recently asked why I thought so many people utilised/supported pseudoscience such as astrology, crystals, etc.
My own answer at the time was that: "people are amazingly uncomfortable with ambiguity"- science does not foreclose on what we can or cannot know- which means that we can seldom be sure of our most prized assumptions- not exactly the rock of Gibraltar!
Other answers to this question?
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
 Posted - 07/05/2001 : 03:39:04 [Permalink]
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To me it has always seemed that people want easy answers and solutions and some hope. If a doctor tells you that you have an incurable disease, just keep going to doctors till one tells you what you want to hear etc.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 03:49:59 [Permalink]
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Ok @tomic, I can agree with your sentiment. But let me expand on that also. Most people don't want to think or think critically. Therefore, when an easy answer is supplied them by dubious means they are willing to buy it hook, line and sinker.
Hey, this sounds a lot like religion. Easy answers....hmm.
He's YOUR god, they're YOUR rules, YOU burn in hell! |
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@tomic
Administrator
USA
4607 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 03:59:01 [Permalink]
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The religious folks have it easy. They usually have one or maybe a few books. Real explanations fill libraries.
@tomic
Gravity, not just a good idea...it's the law! |
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bestonnet_00
Skeptic Friend
Australia
358 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 04:11:45 [Permalink]
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People want to believe what sounds good.
Doesn't matter if it is, as long as it would be interesting if it did exist they believe it.
Believe what you want, not what exists would be there motto.
Abondon Drugs, say no to Religion |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 06:41:38 [Permalink]
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You've never seen the libraries of followers of pseudoscience.
quote:
The religious folks have it easy. They usually have one or maybe a few books. Real explanations fill libraries.
Stop the murder of the Iraqi people.
http://www.endthewar.org |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 06:48:57 [Permalink]
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Many, maybe most, people are not taught how to think. Almost everyone falls into some thinking trap somewhere in their lives. That doesn't make us stupid, it's just something that has to be learned.
quote:
Ok @tomic, I can agree with your sentiment. But let me expand on that also. Most people don't want to think or think critically. Therefore, when an easy answer is supplied them by dubious means they are willing to buy it hook, line and sinker.
Hey, this sounds a lot like religion. Easy
Stop the murder of the Iraqi people.
http://www.endthewar.org |
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Tokyodreamer
SFN Regular
USA
1447 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 08:54:32 [Permalink]
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quote:
Many, maybe most, people are not taught how to think.
This, above all else I believe, is the problem...
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Ma gavte la nata! |
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Orpheus
Skeptic Friend
92 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 11:17:29 [Permalink]
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To my mind, it seems more important to first teach people the virtues of thinking for oneself before prescribing any particular program of independent thought.
Liberation before education?
Find your own damned answers! |
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 11:27:18 [Permalink]
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This is true, but at some point, people have to accept, at least to some degree, what the experts tell them.
Part of the problem is that many "experts" are biased, deluded, or outright charlatans.
If a Nobel Prize winner tells you that the medical journals are slanted and don't want to agree with the Nobel prize winner, then it's difficult to argue. We're always told to think for ourselves, but when we think out of the mainstream, we're told we're foolish.
People are told to take responsibility for their medical treatment, but when they veer from the mainstream, they're told that they're not thinking for themselves.
It's very easy to fall into that trap when people who are supposed to know what they're talking about, like Dr. Deepak Chopra, are telling you that the moon is made of green cheese.
It's a difficult problem, and once someone is in a mental trap like that, it's difficult to get out.
quote:
To my mind, it seems more important to first teach people the virtues of thinking for oneself before prescribing any particular program of independent thought.
Liberation before education?
Find your own damned answers!
Stop the murder of the Iraqi people.
http://www.endthewar.org |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 12:49:13 [Permalink]
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How about plain old mental laziness? Over on the BA board, someone will introduce a subject/concept that blows me out of the water. (Not too hard, I didn't exactly cover myself in glory when taking science in school) I'll read, re-read, follow links, and do some independent research. What a triumph when I can finally wrap my mind around the subject! Of course, this takes time, and often headache remedies. Wouldn't it be easier if I could just say to myself "god* makes some stars appear blue and other appear red". How long does that take? Or "god made humans just as they are now". Think of all the time I'd save instead of following that darn genome project.
I think fear should be thrown in here too. We like to be able to understand what's going on around us. When wading into new waters, there's a chance there's going to be concepts some of us will never understand. (This happens to me so often that it doesn't even bother me anymore) How comforting to some to just say "don't worry about it, god will take care of everything".
*I used the word "god" here just for an example, not to slam any christians on this board. If you'd like, please insert the name of some other deity/superstition/new age belief at will.
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 13:54:26 [Permalink]
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quote:
I was recently asked why I thought so many people utilised/supported pseudoscience such as astrology, crystals, etc.
My own answer at the time was that: "people are amazingly uncomfortable with ambiguity"- science does not foreclose on what we can or cannot know- which means that we can seldom be sure of our most prized assumptions- not exactly the rock of Gibraltar!
Other answers to this question?
People want to know where they are going and what the future holds for them. Science can explain physical characteristics and lifecycles in general terms. People want specifics on themselves. The truth is that we make decisions every day that change where we are going. Charlitians have been playing on these fears for centuries. The only thing that fortunetellers tell us, is that they need money and this is easier than finding a real job.
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Gorgo
SFN Die Hard
USA
5310 Posts |
Posted - 07/05/2001 : 14:16:04 [Permalink]
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That is part of it sometimes, I'm sure.
However, one can work really hard on some on pseudoscience and "New Age/New Thought" type ideas.
quote:
How about plain old mental laziness?
Stop the murder of the Iraqi people.
http://www.endthewar.org |
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Orpheus
Skeptic Friend
92 Posts |
Posted - 07/06/2001 : 06:50:37 [Permalink]
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I think Valiant Dancer has a point. If you look closely at the content of much of pseudoscientific thinking, you discover that it almost always has a corny feel about it- due in part to its adressing of those insecurities we all have to some extent- am i lovable? does anybody care? am i significant in the big scheme of things? etc.
Mental laziness certainly plays a part, but I think, as Sagan observed in his Demon Haunted World, that even pseudoscientists have (sometimes) a deep longing for meaning and truth- it's just their method which bites...
Find your own damned answers! |
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