Dealing With Crazies

Today we are going to discuss how to deal with crazies. Of course, this is a provocative title. What we really mean is how do we deal with those who make irrational decisions? The Merriam-Webster definition of "crazy" is "marked by thought or action that lacks reason." And that is the definition we are referring to. 

Some of our other lectures deal with how other people and we make irrational decisions due to cognitive biases or logical flaws. Their nonscientific approach might not be evident until they have communicated quite a bit. Even some irrational thoughts can have some plausible foundations. But there are some simple observations that give us a clue to the lack of a scientific approach. 

People Who Decide To Prove A Specific Finding Are Irrational.

This is where they announce that they are attempting to prove their belief. I recall a documentary where a couple of amateur scientists reported that they knew that the Bimini Road, a geologic formation in the Bahamas, was man-made and was Atlantis, and they were going to prove it! No, no. That is not how science works. We make observations and do experiments, and based on those results, we develop our beliefs, which we test further. Either it is man-made or not. Either it is Atlantis or not. By the way, for reference, the Bimini road is a natural formation and is not the site of Atlantis. Plato did not get to the western hemisphere. 

People Who Spend More Time Talking Than Listening Are Often Passing On Information Of Dubious Value.

Few of us can talk continuously without being repetitive or inventive. 

People admired, wealthy, or otherwise well respected are not correct by definition. In fact, with people hanging on their every word, they often tend to join their followers in believing everything they say. 

More subtly, we tend to believe a plausible explanation. I know what you are thinking, "If it is plausible, it is most likely true." This is an understandable point of view but flawed. Science experiments test whether one or another potentially plausible explanation for a phenomenon is correct. An example is the disappearance of a puddle of water in a depression on solid rock. The puddle could evaporate, or it could soak into the porous surface of the rock, or someone could have dried the surface. All of these are plausible, and more than one might be correct, but not necessarily so, and probably not all are correct. 

How Do We Deal With Irrational Thoughts?

An example might be someone who believes that the Earth is flat, a flat-earther. Separately from the spoil-sports who say that the Earth is flat fills one definition where the layers are parallel, and indeed they are, in the absence of bumps and dips, since all layers of the Earth are affected by the curvature of the Earth. Over contiguous atoms, a vector between two adjacent atoms is parallel to a vector between two atoms a layer down. No, we mean that the Earth is flat like ancient representations, like a cheap pizza.  

So, Bubba says, "The earth is flat." A response such as "Moron, your brain is flat" will not convince Bubba.

Rather, first, identify with Bubba and his thought process. "Yes, I've heard that. Tell me the logic behind that."  Listen to the arguments, offer alternative explanations, and then explore together satellite images, flight plans, and horizon effects and come to a different conclusion. You both together refute the theory. 

So you have taught Bubba that the Earth is not flat, in the classical sense, and have taught Bubba a skill on how to investigate statements. 

Before we close, we need to be a scientist and consider the possibility of being the crazy ones. We might, at times, make irrational decisions. So, remember that we are not the smartest person on the planet. And even the smartest person makes mistakes. We should examine our thought processes. Do we hold irrational views? Do we make irrational decisions? 

We are wrong if we conclude that every idea from a particular person or group is correct or incorrect. We are being irrational. No person or group is completely right or wrong. We cannot abrogate our truth meters based on our emotions. 

So, the moral of the story is to be rational, use reason, and think analytically. In short, be the scientist.