Puzzling Gullibility
A few days ago I talked on the phone with someone, who told me about how his neighbour had found water, allegedly due to the help of a dowser. So I told him about the experiments done by Randi, of which the result was that dowsers did not have any more success than was to be expected by statistical probability. I told him about the million dollar price for anybody, who could proof the validity of dowsing. His belief was unshakable. There was one dowser, and one farmer happening to find water at the spot indicated by the dowser, and for him, it was not a coincidence, but the ultimate proof.
If that guy had been a high school drop out, who never had a chance to even hear about scientific methods, I would not be puzzled.
But that guy is someone with a degree in physics. I doubt that I would be even capable to get that. Yet he believes the weirdest nonsense, that I only laugh at. Maybe he was already developing dementia.
A few days ago I talked on the phone with someone, who told me about how his neighbour had found water, allegedly due to the help of a dowser. So I told him about the experiments done by Randi, of which the result was that dowsers did not have any more success than was to be expected by statistical probability. I told him about the million dollar price for anybody, who could proof the validity of dowsing. His belief was unshakable. There was one dowser, and one farmer happening to find water at the spot indicated by the dowser, and for him, it was not a coincidence, but the ultimate proof.
If that guy had been a high school drop out, who never had a chance to even hear about scientific methods, I would not be puzzled.
But that guy is someone with a degree in physics. I doubt that I would be even capable to get that. Yet he believes the weirdest nonsense, that I only laugh at. Maybe he was already developing dementia.
