Dude, Where’s My Null Hypothesis?
WWJD?
The indisputable evidence box was a conceptual mind-exercise I came up with a while back to test one’s ability to maintain justifiable skepticism. It’s like a pregnancy test for logic, except you don’t have to pee on anything.
In a nutshell, the test is to imagine a set of hypothetical evidence that is so overwhelmingly AGAINST your own belief system that you’d have no choice but to accept that you are undeniably wrong. The question is then: presented with this indisputable evidence box, would you abandon your beliefs?
I like this exercise because it’s naturally polarizing. For those with a strong scientific background, it’s a layup; the scientific method flourishes in this sort of situation where new evidence presents itself against a commonly accepted theory. But when the user’s response is fuddled, ambiguous, or even hostile toward the test, it’s quite clear that skepticism and rationality are not frequently-used tools in their personal bag of tricks.
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Google Work-At-Home Kit? Make Money Posting Links From Home? Get Paid For Doing Absolutely Nothing?
www.ScamScanner.com
In my Internet Complaint Box post, I briefly touched on the barrel-bottom forum over at Google, where any and all forms of complaint and discussion seem to rise, as if bubbling from the soupy runoff of a newbie processing plant. By far, the most common discussion is the “Internet scam”.
A certain degree of triage is performed by myself and several other “power-user” contributors. Unfortunately, most of these episodes are too far along to offer any satisfactory resolve – credit cards have been handed over, repeat charges are appearing on bank statements, and representative phone numbers aren’t working.
Once again, these scams have absolutely nothing to do with Google. But since “Google” is synonymous with “Internet”, people seem to think Google should know that they’ve been scammed on “their” Internet. It really is a serious problem, and I truly feel remorse for most of these unfortunate victims.
And then there are the smarter folks.
BREAKING NEWS: The Internet Causes Autism!
(Click for larger version)
As the above graph clearly shows, the number of reported autism cases in the United States directly correlates with the size of the Internet.
Holy crap! The Internet is causing autism!
How can those rich brainiacs at Google and Microsoft sleep at night, knowing their technology is somehow polluting our children’s bodies with dangerous toxins? At this rate, by 2068 every single person in America will have autism! This is an outrage!
Why haven’t the major news networks caught on to this? Obviously they are in bed with the big pharmaceutical companies who want this information suppressed from the public eye!
Email your relatives and spread the word! Don’t use the Internet!
5 Things You Love That Are Also “Just a Theory”
Bananas
I promised myself I wasn’t going to turn neoSpockets into a soapbox blog, but there’s been a bit too much depressing anti-evolution news in the past few weeks and I can’t keep my mouth shut any longer.
This “evolution is just a theory” battle-cry is tiring. I’ve seen this card played far too many times, and I’m fatigued in its lame attempt to make a pseudo-intelligent argument out of a clearly religious-centered theme.
Disclaimer: I’m not going to attack any specific belief system in this post, but rather show the fallacy of this common and clichéd “just a theory” argument. Let me state very clearly upfront that it honestly doesn’t matter to me what you believe in. At the end of the day, we all believe whatever solution gives us the most peace-of-mind. But when you’re passionate enough about your beliefs to start trying to discredit my boy science, I start to get a little peeved.
The Indisputable Evidence Box
I wholeheartedly endorse a justifiable amount of skepticism. I think that to whatever belief system you subscribe, it is important to occasionally look around and find all your emergency exits.
In economics, a phenomenon exists known as the endowment effect, which can be simplified to state that “people place a higher value on objects they own than on objects that they do not.” This concept extends nicely into human belief systems; it is often consciously easier for a person to discredit a competing belief, than to apply such scrutiny to their own beliefs. In effect, you continue rooting for your horse regardless of its position in the race.
Any scientist worth his/her weight in beakers will tell you that we don’t know anything for sure. Even the most studied and excepted theories have microscopic decimal of doubt. But this skepticism is an extremely important part of the scientific method and paves the way for scientific progression. Personal skepticism unfortunately doesn’t always meet with such rigor.
A good exercise in personal skepticism is the Indisputable Evidence Box. This is a strictly hypothetical test, but may fall under a “test of faith” category for some.
Tell Your Friends
