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I love this argument, "reality doesn't care". I often have semi-arguments with family members when they tell me that they "believe" that X is true or Y is false

I love this argument, "reality doesn't care". I often have semi-arguments with family members when they tell me that they "believe" that X is true or Y is false when it comes to medical or scientific stuff. Then I tediously argue that science is not a matter of beliefs but facts, but that doesn't really hit home because some random guy on a random website wrote something they wanted to hear. I thought about forwarding this cool article but then realized that, just like reality doesn't care about us, there's a category of people who doesn't really care about reality.

dgallagher 13y ago
The nice thing about reality is that it continues to exist regardless if you believe in it or not. The thing is, what we perceive as reality might be wrong sometimes. Fortunately the scientific method is a pretty good algorithm whose purpose is to expose it whether we like the answer or not. Our species doesn't know everything yet, and we're limited by the capabilities of our bodies, knowledge, technology, and other things. Many people like to create a worldview in their heads which they become comfortable with. That's fine, but trouble arises when it's challenged and they fail to question or adjust it. Those who stubbornly defend against, dismiss, or demonize contradictory evidence significantly increase their probability of being wrong. A great technique to avoid this trap is to ask yourself, and answer, the following question for any subject, no matter how uncomfortable or taboo: What facts or evidence would it take for you to stop believing in what you currently believe? It's an excellent self-check, and a tool no open minded person should be without.
pyre 13y ago
> science is not a matter of beliefs but facts Is it? There is a lot of shoddy science that is done, and a lot of things that were accepted as scientific fact only to be overturned. Just because something is accepted by the medical community (for example) doesn't mean that it's necessarily a fact. </devils_advocate>

dgallagher 13y ago

The nice thing about reality is that it continues to exist regardless if you believe in it or not. The thing is, what we perceive as reality might be wrong sometimes. Fortunately the scientific method is a pretty good algorithm whose purpose is to expose it whether we like the answer or not. Our species doesn't know everything yet, and we're limited by the capabilities of our bodies, knowledge, technology, and other things. Many people like to create a worldview in their heads which they become comfortable with. That's fine, but trouble arises when it's challenged and they fail to question or adjust it. Those who stubbornly defend against, dismiss, or demonize contradictory evidence significantly increase their probability of being wrong. A great technique to avoid this trap is to ask yourself, and answer, the following question for any subject, no matter how uncomfortable or taboo: What facts or evidence would it take for you to stop believing in what you currently believe? It's an excellent self-check, and a tool no open minded person should be without.

pyre 13y ago

> science is not a matter of beliefs but facts Is it? There is a lot of shoddy science that is done, and a lot of things that were accepted as scientific fact only to be overturned. Just because something is accepted by the medical community (for example) doesn't mean that it's necessarily a fact. </devils_advocate>