BFTP: Why facts don't convince

If nothing else positive comes from the outcome of the last two presidential elections, they have made a lot people start thinking about their thinking - including me.

I am a middle class, college-educated white male with a career in education. In my heart of hearts, I believed that I always made decisions based on good information (that is what librarians preach after all - see CRAAP Test). I believed that I could make a dispassionate assessment of nearly any problem and devise a reasonable solution that is for the greater good. I believe in science, in math, in logic, in Neil deGrasse Tyson, and in the Oxford comma.

Moreover, I believed that if others simply had all the facts, had half a brain, and had decent system of values, I could get anyone to agree with me on any issue. Those who did not were either misinformed, ethically challenged, or lacking brain power. Or the sky was simply a different color in their world.

One of my favorite clips I showed during keynotes that address the challenge of critical information evaluation skills is of Stephen Colbert delivering his homily on truthiness. Hah, hah, to think that there are actually people who are ruled by feelings instead of facts. I am glad that I, like most librarians, cannot be so categorized...

The Colbert Report

While I still consider myself to be well-informed about most issues and that I retain humanistic values, I have been increasingly cognizant that my side (the left) of the political spectrum is just as susceptible to 'truthiness". Even me. I am as capable of making judgements based on feelings from the heart as knowledge from the head. And it's only taken 60+ years for me to realize this.

While I continue to dislike and avoid right-wing agitprops like Fox News and Rush Limbaugh and Breitbart, I am increasingly skeptical of my left-wing raconteurs as well. Paul Krugman and Tom Friedman and the Huffington Post are starting to sound repetitively shrill. I'm growing tired of misleading headlines that make a mountain of a molehill in reporting actions in Washington DC. I am whacking Facebook "friends" and groups whose sole postings are political rants. The blur of journalism and editorialism exists as much on the left as it does on the right.

My favorite readings lately have been about why people choose to believe and value what they do. How can, for example, my smart and compassionate relatives not support expanded Medicare which covers more individuals in need to health care? How could a college-educated person have voted for Trump? Why did our state legislature not fund preschool for all students even when we had a surplus?

The often crude, but always funny Matthew Inman at the Oatmeal blog, posted a comic called "You're not going to believe what I am going to tell you" (careful, there is an adult version and a school-safe version) which by example explains the "backfire effect" in cognitive psychology: that when presented with evidence that contradicts our core values, those values and beliefs actually get stronger.

http://theoatmeal.com/comics/believe_clean

I have long been an advocate of teaching our students critical thinking and information evaluation skills.  Consider the source, the date, etc. of information found. But is that enough?

Do we also need to help our library users understand confirmation bias, the backfire effect, and persuasive techniques?

Even the rational mind may need a deeper understand of why facts are not enough.

Original post 5/17/17

Why I remain an optimist

Yesterday I did my regular volunteer grocery shopping and delivered a couple of orders to residents of senior-living apartments. Besides delivering the groceries, I usually visit for a moment with the recipient and always ask if there is anything else with which I can help. So I sometimes get asked to take out trash or another small task. No biggie.

One sweet older lady - 80+, 5 ft tall, and probably 80 pounds soaking wet - took me up on my offer of additional help. "Could you please open these three pill bottles for me?" she hesitantly asked, pointing to them on the counter where I set her groceries. In 20 seconds, I had the caps off. And headed to my next delivery.

It was such a simple act but somehow it made me think about how easy acting kindly can be. I am certainly no saint and I honestly believe most Americans (humans in general) are kind by nature. It is what, given the gloom and doom of the news that stresses politics and pandemics and inflammatory rhetoric, fortifies my generally optimistic outlook.

Everyone I know personally is at heart a generous person. A loving person. A person who would help when asked. And I know liberals and conservatives. Fundamentalists and atheists. Old people and young. Granted, I suppose I live in a bubble of middle class folks. But were I betting man and asked if a stranger was generous or selfish, I'd always bet on that person being kind.

Tomorrow (or hopefully soon) the election outcome will be known. Whether "my side" wins or loses, I will remain convinced that the future will be brighter. If we all open somebody's pill bottles for them today. 

_____________________

Oh, the comic above appeared in the local paper a couple Sundays ago. It resonated with me.

In doing my volunteer shopping for a local nonprofit organization that works to help older adults stay independent (working the commitment around my mid afternoon naps whenever possible), I continue to be amazed by just how much "stuff" is available for purchase at the local supermarket.

• Hundreds of varieties of cat food (and cat owners are more particular about this than they are about their own food.
• Dozens of variations of Secret Deodorant for Women (I searched for 10 mintues and never found a match to what was requeste.)
• Foods like "herring fillets in red wine sauce" and braunschweiger (people still eat those?)
• Gluten free noodles, breads, and you-name-it
• Several varieties of Fig Newtons, canned black beans, and tomato soup
• Hundreds of different frozen pizzas
• At least three sizes and three brands of any product

And the list goes on. I hope I got the right kind of kitty litter for my last order.

Revisiting the definition of stupidity

Hanlon's razor: Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Robert J. Hanlon

Law 3. A stupid person is a person who causes losses to another person or to a group of persons while himself deriving no gain and even possibly incurring losses. from  The five universal rules of human stupidity by Corrine Purtill.

On a group hike yesterday morning, one participant who was a stranger to me shouted out, "I hope you all vote for Trump next week!" I suggested we not talk politics on this outing. "You must be rich," he replied, and quickly picked up his pace to get some yards ahead of me and my probable response.

My first inclination, I'll admit, was to fire back, "And you must be stupid." I kept the comment to myself. But I did brood on why that response came to mind instead of "What makes you think I am rich?" or "Why should I vote for Trump?"

I am not sure why, but stupidity sort of fascinates me. What is stupidity and why do people act in stupid ways - including me?

Cipolla Matrix

I'm not convinced one has to pose a hazard to others to commit an act that could be called stupid. Not wearing a seat belt, bungee jumping with a badly frayed cord, posting job-endangering photos to the Internet, or drinking from the toilet are all stupid acts as far as I am concerned, but none of them necessarily harm anyone other than the person themselves.

But an element of harm seems to be at the heart of most stupid acts. So if stupid acts are harmful, why do we still commit them? Why do all of us, even those who may behave intelligently and reasonably most of the time, do really stupid things now and again. And I very much include myself.

Is stupidity a quality that can only be discerned by others or not realized by oneself until after the stupid act has been committed, and is therefore unpreventable?

I've long worried that we confuse ignorance and stupidity. (See Seven stupid mistake teachers make with technology.) So any definition and explanation of stupidity is a welcome read. I personally define stupidity as having knowledge but not using it. Yes, I know the bungee cord is frayed and may break, but I'm going to do the jump anyway, sort of scenario.

Most of the stupid acts I commit are a result of over-confidence. My high opinion of myself applies to fixing things like plumbing, electrical outlets, and furniture, despite knowing from past experiences that my repairing often costs more in time and money than had I hired an expert in the first place. This tops my list of stupid acts. (See The quick fix: a tale of woe) Not admitting to ignorance or ignoring factual knowledge are the reasons stupid acts are made.

Anytime one defies the odds, they are acting stupidly. Any time one refuses to admit their ignorance or acts despite reliable information, they acting stupidly. Anyone one acts emotionally against their own best interests, is acting stupidly.

To be very clear, I would not label any individual as stupid (at least out loud). But I am happy to call out actions, even beliefs, that seem stupid to me.

It's OK to be ignorant. Ignorance, happily, is a correctable condition. But let's all try to do stupid things as seldom as possible. Including making snappy, thoughtless responses to others' stupid actions.

Why do you think people do stupid things?