Russia has invaded Ukraine. All over the world, (alleged) smart people are presenting additional facts to make you change your mind about this war. I’m not even talking about false facts. I’m talking about irrelevant facts that add complexity to an issue that is ultimately simple: Russia is the aggressor.
Russia uses an interesting though irrelevant argument for starting its war: the denazification of Ukraine. It’s indeed a historic fact that German-occupied Ukraine collaborated with Nazi-Germany in the 1940’s. So did Vichy-France but what’s the relevance today? A similar argument would be the de-Putinization of Russia.
Quite often, smart people are excellent in pointing towards irrelevant justifications for their deeds, words and intentions – or those of others. Probably, it’s because they can. It’s like a mind game to them in which they can display their intellectual superiority. I know this for a fact. However, there’s more:
“A new study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology led by Richard West at James Madison University and Keith Stanovich at the University of Toronto suggests that, in many instances, smarter people are more vulnerable to these thinking errors. Although we assume that intelligence is a buffer against bias—that’s why those with higher S.A.T. scores think they are less prone to these universal thinking mistakes—it can actually be a subtle curse.”
A quote from a 2012 article in The New Yorker by Jonah Lehrer: Why smart people are stupid
I suppose that smart people indeed tend to look at angles of an issue that may be relevant but may not be (very) likely. Some 800 years ago, William of Ockham (c.1287–1347) came with an idea, which is known as the principle of Occam’s razor that “entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity”.
The 2002 Nobel prize winner Daniel Kahneman (b.1934) has done scientific research into “the psychology of stupidity” or flawed decision-making. Wiki: “His empirical findings challenge the assumption of human rationality prevailing in modern economic theory.”
I noticed a quote by Michael Shermer, an “American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims” that goes to the heart of the matter:
“Smart people are very good at rationalizing things they came to believe for non-smart reasons.”
Hence, your belief systems (ie, 2015 original and 2019 update) will define your justifications, in any given situation. Belief systems are semi-permanent and may only change in case of traumatic life-altering moments (eg, burn-out). My motto in life is still simple and effective: trust, but verify.
What a Fool Believes (1979) by The Doobie Brothers featuring Michael McDonald
artists, artist, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2, Wiki-3
[Chorus]
But what a fool believes, he sees
No wise man has the power to reason away
What seems to be
Is always better than nothing
Than nothing at all
Note: all markings (bold, italic, underlining) by LO unless in quotes or stated otherwise.
0 Comments