Intellectual Laziness

One of the things that I run into a lot is what I term "intellectual laziness". This is the practice of just saying something rather than thinking about it first. What follows is a few examples of this disturbing phenomenon from my life.

1.) I don't like the method, so I'll reject the outcome.

During a conversation with a young woman about animal cruelty, I put forth the belief that, in the future, we can and/or will grow our meats in vats rather than raise livestock. This would put an end to slaughterhouses and the risk of superviruses that arise from them. I felt that this was an even better solution than free-range livestock since we would let the animals roam free and wouldn't need to kill them at all. The response? "If we let the cows roam free, the wolves will multiply and eat our babies." The implication, unsaid, was that we must kill cows to keep the wolf population in check. When I asked why we wouldn't just kill the wolves when the break into our houses at night, I was greeted with stammering.

Let me give you a new context for this error: we need to get the trash up out of the house. Therefore, we will burn the house down and the trash won't be a problem. The correct response is "No, let's just bag up the trash and take it to the curb", not "if we take the trash out of the house, the ants won't be able to eat it and will then eat us."

I can understand if the idea of vat-grown meat is a bit..well, icky. But that doesn't mean that you should start making things up. Just say "I find the idea of vat-grown meat icky."

2.) I have reached a conclusion without any supporting facts.

I also refer to this as the "I'm afraid to say 'because I want to' error". This young lady wanted to have a home birth. Now, I find the idea of home births rather backwards and certainly wouldn't do it myself, but live and let live. If you want to forgo all the benefits of modern medicine and absolutely ruin your sheets, feel free. But when I ask why, say "because I want to." Don't say "Emergency rooms aren't ready and therefore require prep time, and a torn perineum heals faster than one that is cut with a scalpel."

It might help your understanding if you realize that this young lady lives a half-hour away from the nearest hospital. Barring the sudden availability of transporters, she would have to get into a car and drive for a half hour should a problem arise during her childbirth. This is not a good substitute. Furthermore, the whole "natural tears heal faster than precision incisions" thing is just flat out wrong. Thankfully, the birth went without a hitch.

3.) I don't understand the different between "objective" and "subjective"

In yet another conversation with said young woman, I put forth the idea that, because human beings are natural, anything human beings make or do is natural in the same way that beaver dams are natural. Now, this is an admittedly extremist view, and not one that I fully believe: I was simply trying to head off the association between "natural" and "good" (and, consequently, "man-made" and "bad"). She replied with "the sky is yellow."

Eek.

In case you weren't clear on the error here, she didn't turn the sky yellow. She just said it was. There is a huge difference between "nuclear reactors are a by-product of nature and are therefore natural" and "I'm a flippin' loon."

There's nothing more to say about that. It hurts to think about it.

and finally,

4.) I'm either a liar or a complete moron

"I bought a PS3 rather than a 360 because the PS3 is backwards-compatible with my PS2 games. I'd rather play those than pay $60 for new games."

In short, if someone has PS2 games, it's likely that they have a PS2. Worst-case scenario, PS2s cost $500 less than PS3s.

The worst part about this is that I didn't ask. She just sprung this one me unexpectedly like some sort of aneurysm-inducing bear trap.
How to avoid intellectual laziness

I support decisions I don't agree with if there's a good reason for them. I don't support decisions I agree with if there isn't a good reason for them. It's simple.

Here's a list of pointers to avoid inducing migraines in your friends and family:

1. You don't have to respond to everything. If something is said that you don't have a worthy response to, just say "That's interesting. I'll think about it." Lie if you have to.

2. Don't repeat what you read on a bumper sticker. If your philosophy is 10 words or less, re-evaluate it.

3. Sometimes you just want to do something for no good reason. "I want to" is a perfectly good reason.

4. Not everyone has to agree with you. Let them disagree even if it's the single most important thing in your life. Odds are, they don't care nearly as much as you do.

5. At some point, everyone has to just shut up. Learn to recognize this time and act accordingly.

Now that I've got all that off my chest, the headaches will probably stop.