Why do Smart People Believe Weird Things

[Weird Harold]

from: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0002F4E6-8CF7-1D49-90FB809EC5880000&catID=2

Smart People Believe Weird Things
Rarely does anyone weigh facts before deciding what to believe
By Michael Shermer

...

Rarely do any of us sit down before a table of facts, weigh them pro and con, and choose the most logical and rational explanation, regardless of what we previously believed. Most of us, most of the time, come to our beliefs for a variety of reasons having little to do with empirical evidence and logical reasoning. Rather, such variables as genetic predisposition, parental predilection, sibling influence, peer pressure, educational experience and life impressions all shape the personality preferences that, in conjunction with numerous social and cultural influences, lead us to our beliefs. We then sort through the body of data and select those that most confirm what we already believe, and ignore or rationalize away those that do not.

This phenomenon, called the confirmation bias, helps to explain the findings published in the National Science Foundation's biennial report (April 2002) on the state of science understanding: 30 percent of adult Americans believe that UFOs are space vehicles from other civilizations; 60 percent believe in ESP; 40 percent think that astrology is scientific; 32 percent believe in lucky numbers; 70 percent accept magnetic therapy as scientific; and 88 percent accept alternative medicine.

...

Given some of the opinons that get expressed here at Lit, botth political and sexual, I found this article enlightening.

I think sometimes smart people are "smarter" than "scientists" give them credit for, though.

Take "Magnetic Therapy" as an example -- "70 percent accept magnetic therapy as scientific" -- just might mean that they know it works and don't believe that it works because of some supernatural effect on their aura or other mystical explanation.

I don't know if I would say that Magnetic therapy is "scientific" as in "we think we understand how and why it works." I do know that I have several magnetic therapy "props" and they certainly seem to do at least part of what is claimed for them -- easing carpal tunnel pain from spending too much time on lit, for one example.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I prefer to believe that most people are dumber than rice:

"(A cell of) rice appears to contain about 50,000 genes, compared with about 35,000 for humans." — The Wall Street Journal, April, 2002

HUMANS INSIST THEY ARE NOT DUMBER THAN RICE
Many Believed to Be Correct

San Diego, Calif. (SatireWire.com) — Word that genetic researchers have discovered a cell of rice contains more genes than a human cell has caused widespread outrage as people across the globe attempt to prove that humans are easily as smart as a grain of rice.

In Edmonton, Canada, 34-year-old Alan Snigget was one of many average humans who devised intelligence tests to discredit the implication that rice is more evolved. The postal worker began by taping a grain of rice to a brick wall — "but lightly, so it could move if it had to" — then hopping behind the wheel of his 1994 Dodge pickup truck. After honking several times to give fair warning, Snigget drove at high speed directly into the rice. According to eyewitnesses, however, the rice never moved.

Said one Edmonton police officer who observed the scene: "Stupid rice."

As in Snigget's case, humans have managed to prevail in almost every test. In Montgomery, Ala., state employee Rodney Lopat said he took "two out of three" in a geography quiz against the allegedly brainy grain. And in Aberdeen, Scotland, lorry driver Duncan McCann is confident he will win a chess match that began three days ago. Asked why the game was taking so long, McCann explained that the rice is using the white pieces. "I'm still waiting for it to make the first move," he said.

RICE RIOTS

While most man vs. grain confrontations have been peaceful, a few have devolved into violence. Most notably, rice riots erupted yesterday in Germany after an angry crowd of National Front youths spotted a man who, they decided, looked like a piece of rice. After chasing the man for two blocks, the throng grew bored, but managed to salvage an otherwise disappointing afternoon by ransacking a Japanese restaurant.

In response, the Rev. Jesse Jackson called for a boycott of any food product companies that differentiate between white and brown rice.

The press, meanwhile, has generally denounced the findings. In a front-page editorial, the Straits Times of Singapore questioned whether researchers had taken cells from a representative cross-section of humans, or just actor Robert Blake. Expressing its anger, USA Today called the report "as useless as studies insisting there is a widespread dumbing down of America," and included a series of colorful graphs and charts to illustrate its point.

If any one sentiment prevails, however, it is the belief in human superiority. To that end, CNN.com released the results of a poll asking "Are humans dumber than rice?" A full 51 percent of respondents voted no, while only 15 percent clicked yes. The remaining 34 percent accidentally clicked the wrong button, panicked, and deleted their browsers.

Copyright © 2002, SatireWire

Editor's Note: SatireWire's Andrew Marlatt originally wrote a version of this story for The Washington Post.

 

[lovetoread]

I am a believer.

lol

Meaning that unless you can show me that it doesnt,then there is a chance it couldwork.

 

[Anais Dahl]

I dont really have a set of things I really believe or disbelieve in. I tend to be a little skeptical if I cannot find any proof, but that doesn't cancel it out for me. I just think, well it COULD happen, I guess. The only one that I am 99% sure is bullshit is astrology. Anyone can read a horoscope or have a chart done and it will describe everyone's perception of what they think they are.

"You are bright and often misunderstood. You usually have difficulty trusting people until you really get to know them..."

That kind of thing. Generalized stuff that every schmuck goes "Hey, that is SO me!"

I probably just stuck my foot down my throat because 50 people will say, "I am into astrology." Oops in advance.

 

[Weird Harold]

I dont really have a set of things I really believe or disbelieve in. I tend to be a little skeptical if I cannot find any proof, but that doesn't cancel it out for me. I just think, well it COULD happen, I guess.

Don't you have some set of criterea that causes you bullshit alert go go off about certain things?

I made a comment on another thread that Igia commercials all sound like, "here, Sucker, come to papa." Don't you have a similar reaction to things that just don't "sound right" -- or conversely, have a "That sounds logical," reaction to some things?

 

[SINthysist]

My wife, the Oprah addict, was watching the show yesterday and the medical version of the Crossing Over guy was on. She claims to be able to sense people's illnesses before they get sick.

Now my wife has her college degree.

But you should have heard the names I was called when I linked this woman to astrology...

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Okay, serious response.

You have all probably heard me say over and over again that I think everybody lets their emotions rule them, and that very few people have learned how to think rationally. Those that do learn how to think rationally usually only apply that skill to specific tasks that require them to do so, such as how to design a rocket, how to repair a car or how to mend someone's broken bone. When not involved in that task, they revert back to letting their emotions rule them. This is why otherwise "smart" people believe stupid things (such as astrology), and why they do stupid things (such as falling in love with a jerk - or my favorite stupid thing to do, go out and ride my motorcycle very fast).

When I say people let their emotions rule them, I mean that people are essentially disengaging their higher brain functions, their learned ability to think rationally and logically about issues and tasks. They are letting their lower brain functions reassert themselves. It is almost like they are falling asleep.

I believe that most people let their emotions inordinately sway their thought processes about 99.99% of the time - and they are not even aware of the fact. Some people learn to improve themselves and recognize this fact - further learning how to reduce that percentage to say 99.5% or so. These people are what I would call wise.

This also accounts for why there are some very wise people who are not very smart; such people may not be smart, intelligent or knowledgeable, but through some catharsis or epiphany, they recognized that they weren't thinking rationally, and they endeavored to improve themselves and started to think rationally. Rational thought is a force multiplier; it appears to increase your intelligence to other people, when all it is really doing is increasing your efficiency.

In turn, this theory explains why some really smart, intelligent and knowledgeable people do and say really dumb things, and take stupid irrational stances on issues; they are not using their intelligence efficiently. In effect, they are dumbing themselves down.

I personally also think this is why many people, both intelligent and not so intelligent, get very emotionally upset when discussing political/religious/etc. issues - they are not thinking rationally, but rather letting their emotions assert their control over them.

When confronted with a rational stance on the issue, they become frustrated and irate - it is like they have run into an unyielding wall through which they cannot penetrate - and they just keep beating their heads against it. Sometimes it is funny to watch, most times it is just sad.

 

[Dillinger]

Interesting stuff.

I think its because people want to believe, whatever their IQ. They want these things to be real. They want magnetic therapy to work. They want easy solutions.

Thankfully I don't believe anything weird at all.

 

[WaxNWane]

Carl Sagan wrote a book on just this subject - "The Demon Haunted World" - on how woefully obtuse the general public can be about science.

Here's the cover - I'd easily recommend it, but you can probably find it at a library, too.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...f=sr_8_1/102-2690738-4630502?s=books&n=507846

 

[WaxNWane]

Annnnd there's a Stephen Jay Gould (RIP) and Michael Shermer book entitled....

"Why People Believe Weird Things"

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0716733870/ref=pd_sim_books/102-2690738-4630502


And maybe the coolest book title of all time: Extraordinary Popular Delusions & the Madness of Crowds. An 1840's book on the subject (Crusades, tulip madness, etc).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/051788433X/qid=1029510681/sr=2-1/102-2690738-4630502

 

[alexandraaah]

WH, don't you think it's possible to believe things that either have a scientific explanation or something metaphysical and still be smart?

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I think its because people want to believe, whatever their IQ. They want these things to be real. They want magnetic therapy to work. They want easy solutions.

Agreed, wholeheartedly! But that fits in with my theory too. I used to believe things because I wanted to - I still do to a certain degree, but the difference is that I recognize that fact and try hard to ameliorate it.

Thankfully I don't believe anything weird at all.

Yeah, maybe so - but you are hairy!

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

WH, don't you think it's possible to believe things that either have a scientific explanation or something metaphysical and still be smart?

I think you are missing the point - that is exactly what the thread is about; why smart people believe stupid things.

 

[SINthysist]

Smart people are very creative and imaginative.

Sometimes things just resonate and they get sucked in with that, "Oh yeah, gee whiz, I never thought of that before..."

The next thing you know, you're hooked into Scientology!

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Originally quoted by Weird Harold


88 percent accept alternative medicine

That is an interesting bit of bias in the article; there are a number of "alternative medicine" methodologies that do have a scientific basis, but because they don't fit into the allopathic paradigm of "conventional" medicine, they are dismissed as quackery. I am not talking about psychic surgery, or accupuncture - take Chiropractic for instance; it is considered an alternative medicine, one that does not require belief to work. But because it does not fall int othe usual regimen of giving a patient chemicals to mask the symptom, or invasive therapies such as surgery, it is an "alternative medicine".

And no, I have seen no evidence "magnetic therapy" works any better than a sugar pill.

 

[alexandraaah]

I think you are missing the point - that is exactly what the thread is about; why smart people believe stupid things.

My point is why are metaphysical considerations "stupid.?"

 

[Weird Harold]

WH, don't you think it's possible to believe things that either have a scientific explanation or something metaphysical and still be smart?

Sure, there's no reason NOT to believe that there are things which science either hasn't or can't explain.

However, -- and you knew there had to be a "however" -- Blindly accepting things without considering them closely just because you WANT to believe them is not only dumb, but dangerous.

The thread about the petition to enforce laws against obscenity and child porn is a prime example of supporting something because you want to believe without examining all of the ramifications. "Smart people" fall for emotional appeals everyday without checking for "bait and switch" tactics first.

Metaphysics, Faith, Religion, or whatever you want to call it seems to be a basic need for humans, and has a place in everyone's lives. Even Atheists believe in something even if it's expressed as a rigid disbelief in "God." That's not weird.

Now, believing in little green men in flying saucers, that's weird and a good many otherwise rational people indulge in it. They might be right, but I seriously doubt they are.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

My point is why are metaphysical considerations "stupid.?"

Because, for the most part, there is no rational reason to believe them? Because, despite all indications, evidence and all rational arguments to the contrary, people believe them - usually for no other reason than they want to.

I don't know how many times I have heard a person end a debate with something along the lines of "that is all fine and dandy, and you may be right, but I choose to believe this because I want the world/universe/etc. to be this way".

I believe in things that are probably stupid - some of them metaphysical, such as my religion. But I always strive to think rationally about things as much as possible and to always seek the truth. When I find the truth (or as much of it as I can discern), if it conflicts with what I believe, then truth wins out. To continue to believe something when you know it is not the truth, to stubbornly stick to a false and irrational belief, is stupid.

 

[alexandraaah]

Sure, there's no reason NOT to believe that there are things which science either hasn't or can't explain.

However, -- and you knew there had to be a "however" -- Blindly accepting things without considering them closely just because you WANT to believe them is not only dumb, but dangerous.

The thread about the petition to enforce laws against obscenity and child porn is a prime example of supporting something because you want to believe without examining all of the ramifications. "Smart people" fall for emotional appeals everyday without checking for "bait and switch" tactics first.

Agreed; in this type of situation (or any, really) blindly accepting something without consideration is dangerous and irresponsible.

Metaphysics, Faith, Religion, or whatever you want to call it seems to be a basic need for humans, and has a place in everyone's lives. Even Atheists believe in something even if it's expressed as a rigid disbelief in "God." That's not weird.

Now, believing in little green men in flying saucers, that's weird and a good many otherwise rational people indulge in it. They might be right, but I seriously doubt they are.

Here's what I dispute. I think that there are a host of "unknowns" in the universe. I not only accept, but encourage abstract thinking and possibilities. I accept science and scientific explanations, but if there isn't one, I consider very few points of view to be stupid.

 

[Texan]

We all know there are a lot of things that we just don't understand. As a physicist (electro-optics), I don't begin to completely understand how light can demonstrate both a particle and wave affect at the same time. It is completely irrational, but it IS.

Remember how early in school you were taught that the pre-Columbian world thought the world was flat. Then along came a man who proved it was spherical. We are taught an "ethic" that dictates we should be at least a little "open minded" about things we don't understand.

Combine this natural "open-mindedness" with human emotions, and people will believe almost anything.

The real point is that if you believe something, it isn't stupid. It is only stupid to those who don't believe what you believe.

just one man's thoughts.....

edited..... damn typo....

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

Here's what I dispute. I think that there are a host of "unknowns" in the universe. I not only accept, but encourage abstract thinking and possibilities. I accept science and scientific explanations, but if there isn't one, I consider very few points of view to be stupid.

There is thinking outside the box, and then there is the thought processes (if you can call them that) that are performed by those who believe in little green men that create crop circles, and so on. I would not equate the two.

 

[Weird Harold]

Here's what I dispute. I think that there are a host of "unknowns" in the universe. I not only accept, but encourage abstract thinking and possibilities. I accept science and scientific explanations, but if there isn't one, I consider very few points of view to be stupid.

What I consider "stupid" -- or at least biased by preconceptions -- about the UFO cult, is that they ascribe extra-terrestrial causes for every effect they don't understand immediately.

Crop circles are strange phenomenon and not always easilyexplained away as a hoax -- that does NOT automatically mean they're caused by aliens. I've seen theories that they could be caused by "freak" weather phenomenon, which make ass much sense to me as alien interference does.

The UFO cult's reaction to crop circles and pyramids is typical of what the article is about.

 

[dreamer]

OK, I'll throw in my opinion now. I agree with 'draah's unknowns. But I think it's even broader than that. In a very serious way ALL things are unknown. They're only based upon our best guess. We deem something fact only by mutual agreement of the assumptions necessary to establish something as fact. See Plato's Alagory of the Cave.

Most metaphyical things do not have enough sensory proof to deem them factual in the scientific sense.


NOW...to the point at hand. I value 'smartness' in people when they demonstrate to me they desire to THINK about things. I see someone who gives consideration and an open mind to the existance of extra-terrestrials equally with someone who gives consideration and an open mind to learning about Euclidean Geometry. Somehow some people give more 'credit' to one opic over the other as 'more valid' I put value over the invested thought process.

People who think about things are the smartest people in my book. Belief...well...that's all about feelings. I don't think I need to clarify just how much I lead with my feelings at times...but if I were to be called smart I would hope it would stem from my desire to examine things and not from my desire to feel things.

Ack...I hope my ramblings get across what I intend. I may need to post on this later.

 

[alexandraaah]

What I consider "stupid" -- or at least biased by preconceptions -- about the UFO cult, is that they ascribe extra-terrestrial causes for every effect they don't understand immediately.

Crop circles are strange phenomenon and not always easilyexplained away as a hoax -- that does NOT automatically mean they're caused by aliens. I've seen theories that they could be caused by "freak" weather phenomenon, which make ass much sense to me as alien interference does.

The UFO cult's reaction to crop circles and pyramids is typical of what the article is about.

I think I understand better where you're coming from now. It's not the abstract or metaphysical possibilities that you're disputing, rather people who jump to conclusions which honor their speculations...when their speculations are without careful consideration?

If that's the idea, that makes sense to me. You can plug that into several different groups of people; I happen to feel the same way about most of religion.

 

[Shy Tall Guy]

I think I understand better where you're coming from now. It's not the abstract or metaphysical possibilities that you're disputing, rather people who jump to conclusions which honor their speculations...when their speculations are without careful consideration?

It is not just people who jump to conclusions, it is also people who stubbornly stick to their conclusions when faced with truth and/or rational argument. The referenced Child Porn thread is an example of this. Who could blame anyone for wanting to protect children? No rational person surely. But when faced with the facts that the proposed methods do more harm than good, indeed may do no good at all and only harm, some people stupidly and stubbornly stick to their conclusions because:

1) They have an emotional investment in their conclusions and they don't want to see that this investment is in a bankrupt conclusion.

2) They don't want to admit to themselves and/or others that they are/were wrong.

3) It is easier to stick to old conclusions than to form new ones.

4) They have to change.

5) They might have to think rationally - and that is a lot harder to do than to think emotionally. Rational thought is hard work, emotional thought processes just flow from the unconsious and require very little effort.