Believers Say the Darndest Things
A guide to critical thinking when faced with extraordinary claims, warning against false premises, irrelevant truths, and secondary unproven claims often used by belief peddlers.
THE IDEA
BELIEVERS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS
It is always important to keep the big picture in mind when trying to think critically about extraordinary claims. Don’t allow a person trying to sell you a freaky belief to slip in a false premise on you in order to make the conclusion seem more reasonable. A typical line goes like this: “As everyone knows, an extraordinary number of ships and planes vanish mysteriously and inexplicably in the area known as the Bermuda Triangle. Therefore there must be substantial paranormal activity occurring there.”
Never forget that everything a person making a strange claim says should be analyzed and challenged by your skeptical brain. Forget for the moment that supernatural or paranormal powers may or may not be at work in the Bermuda Triangle. The first thing to question would be the claim that an “extraordinary number” of ships and planes go missing without explanation in the area called the Bermuda Triangle. One might check with the people who would pay close attention to such a trend and know more than anyone about it—like the US Navy and the US Coast Guard. (I did; more on that in chapter 3.) You might also question the very existence of something called the “Bermuda Triangle.” Just because people talk about it or it shows up in some slick TV “documentary” doesn’t mean it is necessarily real. Did you know that no such triangular region shows up on any official government or military maps—or on any other serious maps made by credible map-making companies such as Rand McNally or National Geographic? No group of professional and qualified cartographers or scientists has ever agreed on any boundaries for this “place.” Just saying something doesn’t make it so.
Belief peddlers also like to throw in something that is true but does not prove their original claim just because it sounds good and might make them seem more credible. This verbal sleight of hand is common, so watch out for it. If “X” is obviously true and someone attaches it to “Y” in order to come up with “Z” as a conclusion, then we always need to make sure that “X” and “Y” really have something to do with one another in the first place. Like I tell my kids all the time, one tiny, careless mistake in a long math equation makes the final answer wrong. You can’t afford to be sloppy and rush over any of the steps or variables, both in math and in skepticism.
Many people who push paranormal and supernatural claims are also in the habit of distorting reality to try to make their case. Don’t let them. When someone says that “everyone else” believes her claim, pause and think about it. Is that true? Everyone? I doubt it. People are in the habit of saying, “they proved” and “they discovered.” You need to know who they is before you allow yourself to be impressed by them.
Don’t be misled by inconsistent skeptics. Many people who can’t resist spending their money on medical quackery might happen to reject psychic readings, for example, and vice versa. I met a person who laughs at the Moon-landing hoax claim but does believe that the US government has been reverse engineering alien spaceships at Area 51. Always listen carefully to the entire sales pitch and remember that no one person is always right about everything.
Finally, don’t let anyone inflate one wild claim with other wild claims in an attempt to overwhelm you with stories, data, or arguments. Believers often inject secondary unproven claims into the mix in order to make it seem as if they are building a strong case when they are not. Call them on it. Pause the conversation and ask about each claim. For example, if someone tried to tell me that invisible rays from the Moon have been making a significant impact on how mediums talk to the dead, my response would be: We’ll get to mediums soon enough, but first tell me about these Moon rays. What are they? Does NASA know about them? Why not?
If someone said that psychics have determined that horoscopes are 67 percent more accurate on Thursdays than on Mondays, I first would ask for an explanation of why psychics should be viewed as a reliable source about the claim before I entertained anything about horoscopes.
When to use it
Evaluating claims about paranormal or supernatural phenomena, such as alien abductions or psychic powers.
Analyzing advertising claims that mix a true fact with an unsubstantiated conclusion.
Critical review of pseudoscientific articles or documentaries that present anecdotal evidence as proof.
Spotting fallacious reasoning in political or ideological arguments that rely on unverified premises.
FROM THEORY TO EVERYDAY LIFE
In practice
Bermuda Triangle Fallacy
A person claims that an extraordinary number of ships and planes vanish in the Bermuda Triangle, concluding that paranormal activity is responsible. The fallacy lies in accepting the false premise that the Bermuda Triangle is a real, defined area with an unusual number of disappearances, without verifying the claim with reliable sources like the US Navy or Coast Guard.
Moon Rays and Mediums
Someone argues that invisible rays from the Moon significantly impact how mediums talk to the dead. This combines two unproven claims: the existence of Moon rays with such an effect, and the reliability of mediums. The proper skeptical response is to question each claim separately.
A MOMENT TO REFLECT
Put it to work.
Think of a recent extraordinary claim you heard or read. What false premises or irrelevant truths might have been slipped into the argument?
How can you verify the existence of a phenomenon like the Bermuda Triangle before accepting conclusions about it?
When someone presents multiple unproven claims together, how can you systematically question each one without being overwhelmed?
CONTINUE THE CONVERSATION
Source texts
- Think (Guy P. Harrison)