Rocket Scientist

It occurs to me that the ability to think critically is becoming a rare talent.  I say this, not just because the number of scientists and technically adept graduates is continuing to dwindle or that a plethora of people touted as “experts” spout nonsense nearly all the time and no one calls them on it.  Though those are clearly bad signs.  Perhaps the most telling sign is that when clear data and factual evidence is put forward that demonstrates that the nonsense is, indeed, fetid and smelly, clearly originating from the southbound end of a northbound creature with a high fiber diet, their fervent fans just put their fingers in their ears and go “lalalala.”

That completely floors me.  Willful ignorance, apart from being irritating to any thinking person, and destructive to many (not the least of which is the ignoramus himself), is a dangerous sign.  It makes me think of the Dark Ages when Galileo is doing his best to convince the “lala-ers” of his day or of the regular folk of Nazi Germany who turned blank eyes on the invading Allies, genuinely ignorant of the horrors that went on over the hill at Auschwitz because they wanted so much not to know.  I can give you a hundred political examples, but either you’ve already figured them out or you have wax on your fingertips already.

But it’s everywhere.  From the need for directions on suppositories gently reminding one that they are not to be taken orally to the folks screaming about the global warming myth when shown pictures of an almost ice-free mountain that wore a glacier for the past millennium.

Even where I work, I’m amazed how rare that quality of looking at things skeptically really is.  I like to think I’m fairly bright, but I don’t think I’m head and shoulders above all the people I work with.  I mean, this is an advanced industry - isn’t it?  And yet, I’m continuously surprised and disturbed, when I make comments on a review package or suggest a different direction, how often no one has had the thought before or how confused people often are of something that doesn’t fit neatly into an established pattern.  I mean, is original thinking so unusual, so rare?  And, if so, what does that say about our prospects?

I’m opinionated so I often get involved in discussions on several topics.  Almost invariably, someone will stand up and make hard and fast statements with nothing to support them.  “Such and such is a fact, obviously.”  Is it?  Why?  And they sputter or attack personally or, if you’re lucky, cough up links/sources that lead to articles that are clearly either readily disproved nonsense or to articles that say nothing anywhere near as definitively as they stated them.  “Facts” and something being “proven” are very specific. Facts are not formed by absence of evidence because absence of evidence does not mean evidence of absence.  They are not formed by stating something positively and repeating itvery loudly and very often.  They are not, sadly, accompanied by chapter and verse of the Bible.

At best, such opinions are nothing more than that and, in my opinion, this world would be a better place if more people could discern the difference between their opinion and fact.  If you’ve been given data, check it out.  If you haven’t, do your own research.  Question everyone, those that disagree with you and, especially, those that do.  Back up your own opinions where you can and, where you can’t, remember they are nothing more than opinions - and be prepared to change them if data comes along that shows you were wrong. And, yes, I’ve been wrong. But I try not to be wrong twice.

Oh, well, there’s hope for us as long a snopes.com and the few remaining skeptical thinkers (and you know who you are) keep questioning and probing and refusing to accept anything at face value.  After all, when this particular patch of the Dark Ages recedes, someone will need us.

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