Vaguely remembered from a documentary I saw ages ago. A professional magician was being interviewed, and it came up in the conversation that the last performance he'd done had been to some party of scientists. The interview proceeded something like this:
| INTERVIEWER: | That must have been difficult, with all those skeptical minds trying to discover the tricks in your acts! |
| MAGICIAN: | Actually, I've found that scientists are some of the most gullible people I've ever performed to. You see, the average person is happy to live with a lot of mysteries in their life. But a scientist is so used to having an explanation for the world around them, that as soon as they come across something that they can't explain, they'll grasp at any explanation you give them. I've had scientists come up to me after a show and ask if there really is a trick, or if I'm doing real magic! |
I found myself recalling this when thinking about my own gullibility. I often find myself, when confronted with a mysterious event, wanting to believe all manner of kooky explanations, from aliens to psychic powers to secret conspiricies. I have to make a conscious effort to remind myself that though there may not be any other straightforward explanation, that the world is complex and largely unknown; the best position to hold is that we simply do not have enough information about many events to make any sort of final decision about their cause. It's tempting to want to have a theory for everything, but some things, sadly, must remain mysteries.
Anyone else want to admit/deny being gullible? 8^)
Anything else to add?
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