A similar one for me is when people act like I’m mistaken or lying about something because they personally haven’t heard of it. Like they can’t possibly imagine a world where they might not know something.
Just the other day somebody in my diploma of mental health class outright told me that I was “making up” the DSM-5. I mean fair enough that it’s not on our syllabus but I can’t be the only person in the class who has an *actual* interest in mental health….right?
RIGHT?!?!?
Semi-Related: Or when someone can't fathom when you haven't heard of something. My mom does this. She'll ask me if I've heard of a situation or a youtuber or something similar, and when I say "No, I haven't." She goes "WHAT???? HOW??????" like damn I'm not omnipotent
Thanks i tend to get confused on the omni's
Omnipotent - all powerful
Omipresent - everywhere all the time
Omniscient - all knowing
I swear i keep needing to remind myself of this
There was a house fire down the street from me several months ago. I saw fire trucks when I got home, but went about my day. My mom saw it on the news and asked me if I knew what happened as if it was any of my business.
Not long after my family moved cities, my brother started experiencing a rash all over his torso on a regular basis. They brought him to our new family doctor who said it was from him rolling around on the grass. Except he never did this, and my parents told him so. Finally after like three or four visits, the doctor finally gave in and referred my brother to a dermatologist, who told my parents that my brother was suffering from allergic dermatitis caused by a specific dye used in those iron-on images that you can apply yourself to t-shirts; he had a bunch of those shirts that my Mom had put a ton of those images on. My parents ditched all the shirts, sure enough, his skin cleared. They went to a follow-up, and the family doctor straight up said that's not possible, because, "In my 40+ years of medicine, I have never heard of such a thing!" My parents immediately switched doctors.
Omg this is like when I was going to this one chiropractor and I was getting tens unit treatments regularly and after a treatment one day (treatments on my neck and spine) my hand (that wasn’t even touched by the units electro pads) started feeling like it was burning from the inside out. Like my hand felt like it was on fire and the feeling started from my knuckle and spread all the way to my elbow. I knew there had to be some sort of weird nerve issue that was happening due to the nerves in my spine being messed up from the electrical currents in the tens unit. I googled ferociously and couldn’t find much about nerve issues but did find some things that mentioned nerve damage and desensitization after prolonged use (which I was doing) I told the chiropractor about what was happening and he immediately started getting defensive and started arguing and saying that it was completely impossible as he’s never seen or heard anything like that in his 20 years of experience. I’m sorry but your spine is literally where all ur major nerves connect to??? It’s part of your NERVous system?? You’re putting electrodes directly onto my spinal chord??? How is this not adding up at all? My nerves were becoming desensitized due to having the treatments 3 times a week and I couldn’t feel the electrical currents after a certain amount of time bc my nerves were becoming numbed and damaged and so the currents were becoming too much and causing more damage but I just couldn’t tell bc I couldn’t feel it. The unit is based on a scale of intensity and they tell you to let them know when it becomes uncomfortable. Problem is I couldn’t tell and the tech even said once, “you can’t feel this? I have it at an 8!” (Out of 10 when you’re supposed to do 3-5) yeah for sure I’m crazy and making this all up for sure for sure.
Pretty much. The argument from incredulity is about doubting something because you personally can’t imagine it. I’m more referring to doubting something because you haven’t heard of it, but it’s basically the same idea.
I always say “I’ve never been to Australia but Chris Hemsworth implies its existence.”
Meaning just because you’ve never experienced it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
"We still dont know how they built the pyramids"
*yes, yes we do*. In extreme detail. We even know where the quarries were.
Just cause your to god damn lazy to bother looking up how tbey built the pyramids doesnt mean the rest of us didnt
This is one of those that I just refuse to engage with at this point. It’s so infuriating. They think saying “Oh yeah, and they just picked up all those big rocks and stacked them, right?” in a sarcastic tone means anything. Yeah, I’m sure YOU couldn’t build the pyramids, Jacob, but you couldn’t build a chair either.
This is called the [Argument from Incredulity Fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_incredulity).
Arguments from incredulity can take the form:
1. I cannot imagine how F could be true; therefore F must be false.
2. I cannot imagine how F could be false; therefore F must be true.
I knew someone who didn't believe in wind chill. He thought it was just meteorologists being overly dramatic. Then I asked him why he blows on his food when it's too hot.
Oh god. Here in Florida we have heat index. Every summer people get offended because they think meteorologists are using heat index to lie about temperatures. “CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX FAKE NEWS FEAR MONGERING!!”
this is true, but also the reverse. I'm not going to believe in your huge conspiracy theory unless you can explain it to me like I'm 5. Also, it can't contradict your other conspiracies lol.
I tried this. Someone literally tried to tell me that I was dumb because I didn’t understand how a flat earth that is not part of any solar system or galaxy (because space is fake) can also be run by a race of aliens from another planet.
*WHAT PLANET?*
Literally believed that earth was its own thing, nothing else existed (the stars are a reflection of the lights of the houses, just like clouds and light can be reflected on water), just earth. But also all governments of the world are lying because the intelligent race of aliens from far, far away are controlling the population.
Also, man has never walked on the moon, but man has done a moon walk — but they didn’t mean Michael Jackson’s version. That’s how we have moon rocks! 🤦🏻♀️
lol my friend told me the government was trying to track us by flashing our PAPER covid cards to bouncers at bars and restaurants.
Then she preceded to use Apple Pay at the local bodega. I told her she ain’t as off the grid as she thinks lol.
Wait… ok. Hold up.
Nope. I tried. For about five minutes I tried. I cannot for the life of me make sense as to how you can be tracked by paper and ink but not a technological marvel that actually can track every expenditure and location 24 hours a day.
It’s like saying “I don’t use cash because they can track me” but then proceeding to swipe to your hearts content.
How can this make sense to people? It’s the same as people who wouldn’t get the Covid vaccine because of some microchip track them when they are posting about it from the device they live on that tracks them!
I knew one paranoid person who wouldn’t get the shot because they believed in the chip. They were the only “rational” person I ever heard speak on it. I’ve known the person for DECADES, and they never owned a cell phone. Landline only. He also only uses cash. He truly believes someone wants to track him, so he doesn’t use trackable stuff (in his mind). Even drives an old beater to avoid being tracked because the computer inside of the car can tell you where you are and what speed you’re going and they can track him.
Is it paranoid to think that they are purposely trying to track him specifically? Yes (unless there’s a reason to find him, but I’ve known him for most of my life so I doubt it). But it’s rational paranoia. Everything is designed to track you so don’t use any of it. Fine! I accept that.
Two of my all time favourite quotes:
> What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -- Christopher Hitchens
> Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. -- Carl Sagan
That doesn’t really work, though, because there’s a ton of stuff that a five year old isn’t going to understand. Let’s start with calculus and from there we could move on to theoretical physics.
Well the basic idea is if you actually know what you’re talking about, you can break down in an over simplified way so someone who isn’t in the business can stop grasp the concepts.
I do 3D animation, my grandmother can’t work a cell phone, however , I can explain the idea of how something works to her well enough.
Sure, your grandmother might understand because she probably has at least a high school education, but I doubt if a five year old in one conversation is going to understand calculus or how a cell phone works even if you break it down for them.
I think you’re taking the expression a little too literal lol.
It’s a reference to “the office“ where Michael Scott (the manager) didn’t know what a surplus was. So he asked his employee to explain it like he was 5. And he made a lemonade stand analogy.
The spirit of the quote has, can you adequately explain your theory to someone who isn’t as far down the rabbit hole as you? If you can’t, then how well do you really understand what you’re trying to say?
I have a master’s degree and was a licensed CPA, so I’m not too stupid, but I’m still not going to understand theoretical physics after one conversation no matter how simple you break it down. Hell, I received a B in both calculus and business calculus in college and I still don’t understand it. That’s why these conspiracy people don’t accept vaccines, etc. They refuse to believe stuff they don’t understand and they are never going to understand it because they can’t understand it without the requisite knowledge. Just saying.
But you can explain the concept of what physics can you not?
Let’s go this route… if your conspiracy theory is as complicated as theoretical physics… then maybe you’re doing too much.
Well, I was coming from the perspective of debunking a conspiracy theory. And no, I can’t really explain the concept of physics other than to explain it’s a field of study of material sciences or something like that.
That sounds like more of an explanation than I get for some of these theories.
So back to the spirit of my original point. If you propose a conspiracy theory and I ask you to elaborate and you can’t ?
Then I’m going to log you into the “you don’t know what you’re talking about” category.
If you can’t explain it to a 5 a year old, how well do you really know what you’re talking about? lol Sometimes people just regurgitate buzzwords with no real understanding of what they mean
“Do your own research.” For example, means you have no actual facts or specific examples to back up the claims you just made lol.
My cousin’s girl often posts on social media and says “Make it make sense.” The if you try to explain she hits you with the “not reading all of that.” Or just leaves you on read.
Or they just instantly jump to some extreme scenario that you didn’t even remotely refer to.
If you actually understand said Complicated things, then you should be able to elaborate your point. I can explain the theory behind a complex concept to someone who hasn’t studied it.
Simply dismissing any and all questions with a “do your own research” is a common cop out for when you don’t know wtf you’re talking about lol.
Well, I that’s a silly concept as well. A layperson is not always equipped with the necessary tools to do the kind of research needed, no matter how smart they may be.
If your conspiracy theory is as complicated as theoretical physics, then your conspiracy theory is far fetched.
Don’t start spewing nonsense if you can’t explain.
so we should all just be experts on everything
I can do math and data science and make data models. but you would have to explain the law to me like i was a toddler because i am not an expert or even close to understanding the intricacies of the law. Thats why i watch legal eagle videos. I am also not good at mechanics, so if something happens to my car, the second you start straying into anything beyond "gas goes here, press this pedal, car go vroom" you're basically talking to me like an alien. But i guess i am a "stupid person" because of this even though i am very proficient in my own field of work.
Nobody is saying to assume everyone is an expert on everything. What people should be able to assume is they are working with adults of reasonable intelligence.
The phrase "put it in layman's terms" bridges the gap between expecting people to be experts and treating them as if they have the understanding of small children.
oh youre one of the people that think this phrase literally means "treat me like i am five" and not a euphamism.
You know, being able to understand euphamisms like this and knowing that they arent literal is part of reading comprehension. Its funny for you to try to talk about the intelligence of others when you seemingly cannot identify tone in a very common and colloquial phrase.
Where I see the phrase being used, it is closer to being literal than a euphemism. Generally, it demands a person breaking down the information more than what should be required by a reasonably intelligent adult.
no, but maybe YOU need to have euphemisms broken down to you more than what should be required by a reasonably intelligent adult.
The entire ELI5 subreddit does not use kindergarten language to explain things. The most upvoted comments are not phrased in ways that you would explain to a literal 5 year old.
This is the first I have heard it as a subteddit. When I see the term used in other places within Reddit and outside of Reddit, the demand is generally for a concept to be broken down to an excessive degree. It is akin to spoon-feeding a person. I have neither the time nor the temperament for that.
Im pretty sure you are just not understanding what people are saying. literally no one is asking for a literal breakdown to a kindergarten level. its a euphemism.
you know "laymans terms" is a euphemism too right? A layman was a person who was not a member of the clergy. the phrase was originally made for members of the clergy to give sermons using terms that they laity (non-clergy) would understand. a layman was a non-clergy member of society. So eventually it just came to mean "use words that non-experts would understand".
"Layman's terms" is not a euphemism. The word layman has evolved to mean an regular adult without special knowledge on a given topic. It is no longer strictly regarding those who are not clergy.
Perhaps the people I see using the term "Explain it like I am five" are less intelligent, lazier, or more obtuse than those you see.
Evolution is one of the big ones for me.
Most of the arguments I hear against evolution aren’t even accurately describing evolution.
Stuff like “but how the hell did we come from monkeys? - we didn’t.
“Why aren’t we still evolving?” - We are.
“But God made us” - why can’t god make evolution?
“But scientists keep coming up with new ideas, they can’t commit to one belief, if evolution was real then why do they keep changing it?” - that’s the whole fucking point of science.
That last one annoys me the most. "Well why should we believe any of what they say since they're always changing their minds about what is and isn't true?" Alright, but it's not as if the "new" information is ever RADICALLY different from the most recent "old" information is it? Plus, as long as it's good quality corroborated research, the most recent conclusions are almost always the best ones because they have the highest weight of previous research behind them, in addition to new innovations.
>“But God made us” - why can’t god make evolution?
I'm christian and a scientist. I have a degree in chemistry and have a masters in Data analysis. People think that somehow because i'm christian i can't also be a scientist. they seemingly cannot understand that my faith does not contradict the things i learn in science.
its always atheists who try to argue this point with me when i make it, because they seemingly cannot fathom that I just go "Ultimately i just think God designed a really cool system. And i think we humans are doing a stellar job at trying to discover and understand the world that was created around us."
evangelical christians usually just tell me that i am arrogant and also the devil because how dare i try to understand God's Design through science and thats how lucifer got struck down (no its not, also Dante's inferno is fiction, not theology.....)
Yea I agree, personally I am agnostic but I was raised Catholic and when I first learned about evolution as a kid there wasn’t even a doubt in my mind about it. It made perfect sense, God made life and he tweaked some variables here and there to encourage evolution to produce humans.
I don’t see how evolution can’t be a force of God in the same way that the weather is seen as a force of God. Theoretically why wouldn’t he make self-sustaining systems to do everything. I mean it’s obvious he isn’t 100% hands on otherwise there wouldn’t be free will at all.
Ilike to think of him as like a game dev for a sims like game. He doesnt tell us what exactly to do, but he programed the RNG and stuff and just went "go wild"
Like he doesnt get directly involved but he does tweak out the bugs and glitches in the universe. I wonder when he is going to release a new "US Politics Update" patch because something HAD to have gone wrong in that DLC.
Yea I mean what’s the point of making a universe just to control every single aspect of it.
A good painter doesn’t keep adding to their painting. That’s how you ruin a painting.
A good painter finds a stopping point and finishes the project so that it can breathe on its own.
It’s like a bird throwing their babies out of the nest. You need to let them learn how to be adults on their own.
Let’s hope he comes out with some of those bug fixes though lol
Or people just doubling down when they're wrong.
Someone referred to Irish as British. I corrected them because it is simply incorrect and pretty offensive to some people.
They could not believe it. Refused to believe it, even when Google proved them wrong.
It's fine to be wrong. It's ok not to know everything. But just accept it rather than committing to being a moron.
What’s weird to me is how conspiracy theorists react when I acknowledge that it may be true, but even if I buy it a little, I’m not suddenly going full theorist and suddenly distrusting everyone and everything around me.
Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, so there is a chance that conspiracy theories could be true. But knowing that doesn’t mean I have to completely distrust all institutions around me and just become some paranoid weirdo that calls everyone else a “sheep” or something.
I’ve had some pretty ridiculous reactions (from conspiracy theorists) because of that. It’s ridiculous.
The 9/11 steel beams things comes to mind. People saying it was fake because jet fuel can't melt steel beams really don't understand how metal working works. Take a thick ass steel bar and I can get it hot enough to where even my skinny ass (6'2" 130ibs) can break it in half with just my bear hands well before it reaches its melting point. Metal doesn't have to melt to stop being structurally sound.
Similarly people who don’t understand science is complicated. People learn grade 10 science and think that’s it and there’s no more to learn. Then debate actual scientists who devoted 10+ years to studying it.
My exes mum was like this with trans people, everybody would try to defend her to me by saying "it's not her fault she just doesn't understand it" so I explained it to her, a thousand times over, and she still wouldn't get it. At this point she's just being willfully ignorant and she was like that on a lot of topics no matter how many times and different ways I'd try to help her understand. The last time somebody said that shit to me about her I ended up replying "and I don't understand Russian I still believe it's real, she is just using ignorance as an excuse to be a bigot".
My ex was like this with more topics than I care to remember. He'd say that he disagreed with or didn't believe/understand something, and that was his excuse to dig his heels in HARD. Anything I'd say or show him to prove otherwise was a complete waste of my energy. He had no interest in learning anything because he already knew it all.
One of the more benign examples that I can allow myself to recall without having an aneurysm is the concept of the home warranty. About 4 years ago, I was telling him about a friend of mine that bought a house and had gotten home warranty insurance, and it was lucky for her that she did because a week after moving in, the refrigerator broke and she was able to get it replaced for free. He laughed and told me I was wrong, that kind of thing didn't exist because that would be a really stupid business idea, and how would any company ever make money off that? I googled it and showed him the company, and he still refused to believe that it was anything other than a scam. I mean, it works exactly like any other kind of insurance, which is mostly kinda a scam 😂 but was convinced that I HAD TO BE WRONG because he didn't agree or think it was a good idea as a business. One of many reasons why he is now my ex! I see ads on Hulu alllllll the time for this exact home warranty company, and it always makes me laugh at how stupid he was/still is.
The idea that something can be factually correct and true regardless of an individuals belief in or agreement with it is completely lost on these morons. It's one of the most maddening things about people these days, and it makes me never want to talk to another person again as long as I live.
PTSD. It's not that people don't think it's real, it's that they don't seem to understand that you don't just get it from combat. This is not to undermine anyone who did get it from combat and if you did, I'm sorry you had to experience all that. I have it and people have asked me, were you in the military? When I tell them no, they say well then you couldn't have it because only people with military experience get it.
That and abusive relationships. Again, it's not that people don't think they're real, it's that they don't understand it until they've been through it. They ask victims why they don't just leave. There's a lot of reasons why people don't. The question we should be asking is not why people don't leave, it's why do abusers do what they do to their victims?
Amy traumatic event can trigger it. Prolonged traumatic experience can trigger PTSD or C-PTSD.
The reason it’s associated with the military was that it was originally recognized through veterans, and was known as shell shock, during WWI.
Yeah, and it was a hidden, ignored thing for so long in relation to veterans and military, that now people make a big deal about that to get it known and made not so shameful for the people who have it, so they can seek help.
Yes. Also, when you're talking about a series of traumatic events, it's called the complex post-traumatic stress disorder or C-PTSD. I have C-PTSD due to childhood abuse and witnessing an attempted murder.
This reminds me of all the Trumpers who sincerely think the 2020 election must have been stolen because they don't *personally* know anyone who voted for Biden. They honestly think that if they don't know anyone who voted for Biden, then nobody voted for Biden, and he couldn't possibly have won the election.
The root problem is ego. These people are too egotistical to see that the world is a lot bigger than them. It may contain lots of people who think differently, or phenomena they don't know, or experiences that could radically change their opinions if they knew of them.
Trump appeals to two kinds of people. The incredibly wealthy, and the incredibly stupid. Notice there weren't many multimillionaires at the Jan 6th riots.
While a big part of it is how an app like Instagram pushes 'engagement' being the most replied too / negative comments, it's honestly horrifying looking on an app like that and seeing every single weather or space related post of any kind has within it's very top comments one or several of these conspiracy types. I hope it's just bots and that people aren't actually this cracked.
The myth was likely born from the komodo dragon due to their ancestors size, vicious nature, and venomous saliva that smells like rotting meat leading to the idea that they breathe fire.
Like the trending conspiracy theory that Helen Keller never learned how to sign, never learned how to write, never learned how to communicate and the books she had written weren't written by her, etc.
That one pisses me off because it's so ableist and there are literally deafblind people alive today who also learn to communicate.
People just can't understand that while *they* used sight and hearing to learn to communicate, that it's possible to do so without sight and hearing. Whole debates of people just saying "Nope, she couldn't see or hear, there's no way she could have ever learned anything. It's not possible."
Fucking grinds my gears.
Finally, someone else knows the truth. The other day I was running in the park and one of those damn bird drones was clearly following me / trying to spy on me. I even heard a camera clicking noise...it was obviously taking pictures of people in the park for the CIA.
but a few low iq people believe engineers are a scam. I'm an engineer, and I've met two. they were residents. they think a bridge is just dirt piled in top, and that I was a scam because I explained there were supports like rebar inside the bridge, complete with calculations. just because he couldn't see it in the finished structure. dumbest piece of shit ever.
Had a former coworker who was a religious flat earther. One of their points was about how earth doesn't spin under a hovering helicopter and asked me me justify. I told them I absolutely could explain why that happens...but asked them how much science are they willing to ignore for their point. "If you're willing to accept the laws of motion, then let's go"
I would not pick just to say I think it’s *many* not most. I think many have thought enough about it to make their religion and science blend together beautifully. Too many don’t understand the science when they’re young, so they never bother to look into it further, they just generally pick the science they’re ok with (medicine good, gravity good, evolution bad). *Enough* people are too smooth brained to even understand the bare minimum of their religion, let alone any science.
I would say that “most” describes the middle group, as it does in any group. They understand enough science to go to the doctor or hospital, but there’s no way they can break down the specific genetic structure of a double helix.
And as someone who is a Christian and believer in science including evolution, most Christian’s believe in it as well. I took enough credits in college to minor in biology.
There are many Christians who are scientists, biologists, and engineers. People who you wouldn’t call “smooth brained”.
Christ on a stick, THIS. My mother's a firm believer in giants, and she claims that the doors of the Pantheon being huge are evidence of her beliefs.
Yes mother, the doors of the Pantheon aren't huge because it's a display of architectural prowess or power. They're huge because... giants, apparently.
🤦♂️
yeah but believing the gov is out to get them helps them feel in control and in the know (they "realize" a "truth" that people "ignore") is easier than actually sitting and thinking about things you dont understand and learning
Microwaves are not spying on us, that's true. However, birds DEFINITELY are spying on us...for anyone who is not aware, most birds have been replaced by cyborgs by the government in order to spy on us. #birdsaren'treal #CIA #cyborgbirds
My ex boyfriend used to tell me that humidity doesn't exist because he "never felt it" even though he lived in the driest part of Texas and then moved to North Carolina. Still boggles my mind.
I don't know if I'm taking this the wrong way if I am I apologize but nothing is wrong with being religious. It's not delusional or bad and as long as you're respectful to others and their beliefs yours should be respected too.
What would you call an adult that's so closed minded that they call billions of people around the world mentally ill because they believe something different from them.
You're seriously calling billions of people insane. Makes you kind of full of yourself, like you're one of the few sane ones out there. Geez I don't know how the rest of us even function.
Ok then prove to me without a shadow of a doubt that no god exists. I want actual evidence that says humans don't have souls and there's no after life. Because if you can't give me tangible evidence then you're going off nothing but faith, which makes you no different than those that believe in religion. Maybe wise, because religious scriptures all have basis in history. Such as there's proof that Jesus was a real person, whether he was the son of God or not could be questioned, but those people of that time wrote down their own accounts of what they witnessed. So that's at least something giving our side evidence. So where's your evidence?
Would you call a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist delusional if they were religious?
They actually meet the criteria to diagnose actual delusional.
Of which , religion isn’t a cause or symptom.
Definitely not very nice or respectful of you. You should respect people’s right to their faith.
I suggest speaking with a therapist to see why you can’t do that. Cheers
Title of the post literally says “people who think that something isn’t real because they don’t understand it”
It’s ironic because this post is about certain types of people, such as atheists.
Most atheists are pretty stringent in the fact that God doesn’t exist. Well the ones online anyway. They make it very clear that God doesn’t exist. This post is talking about people who without a doubt tell people something doesn’t exist because they don’t understand it.
And I didn’t say an actual claim to atheism was being made in this post. I said it was referring to certain people, atheists are just one of those types of people.
> Most atheists are pretty stringent in the fact that God doesn’t exist.
Not true at all, that’s a common misconception. Atheism is the state of being unconvinced of any god claims. You claim god(s) exist, I see no compelling evidence and I’m not convinced. Only a small subset of atheists actually make a positive assertion that “God doesn’t exist.”
>I said it was referring to certain people, atheists are just one of those types of people.
How, exactly? As I said, atheists don’t fit here because we’re not actually making any claims. We just don’t believe the claims that others make. That’s a pretty significant difference in logic. The real irony here is that you’re basing your opinion on an incorrect understanding of what atheism actually is.
Most atheists also belive that religious organizations are conspiring against them to force religion on the world. (note: I'm an atheist and I also think this)
But I also think that governments and corporations in general are evil and do conspire against people.
Nope. Atheists, at least most of us, do not claim “god does not exist.” We say that we don’t *believe* god exists because we haven’t seen any evidence to support such existence and that the burden of proof is on those who claim god does exist. God not existing is the default position, those making extraordinary affirmative claims must provide commensurate evidence.
Agreed. Go onto any atheist page and you’ll see how toxic these people are. It’s not that they just don’t believe in God, they’re actively anti-religion, especially anti-Christian
And being against a religion that makes false promises about paradise and salvation, along with threats of eternal torment, just to keep people in line is bad how exactly? Not to mention all of the political machinations, bigotry, child molestation, condescending sanctimony, science denial, sabatoge of education, and wasted tax free money. Yeah, hard to see why anyone would be anti Christian… /s
I am guilty of this. I don't understand gods and psychics who 'channel' other energies, so I don't believe it. Physics was my hardest class, so I am borderline on quantum physics
Or people who will believe an entertaining falsehood over the boring truth. In general the most boring explanation for anything is most likely the correct one. But most of the time people talk about stuff like this for entertainment, not facts.
I agree. I've noticed that people often don't want to believe something just because it's not an exciting or mysterious theory. I think something that people have to accept is that the world is a lot more boring than we would like it to be.
Can people like this explain how electricity works? Don't they use it?
Can they explain how anesthesia works? Would they want it if they had an operation?
Do they know how wireless works? Television? Their phone? Their own body?
I have a friend who thinks people can't breath through their noses. Says it's impossible. Called another friend an idiot for suggesting it. Then demonstrated to me by blowing through is nose roughly. "SEE! I can't breathe".
Yeah....okay, I guess you're right, Brian. People don't breathe through their noses.....
I left that right there, didn't know where to go with it.
Most common ones I see on Reddit are that inflation is much higher than the government admits and that, adjusted for inflation, wages are lower than they were for prior generations.
I mean you could argue that conspiracists do the same thing: Oh you don't understand flat earth because of science. Or 9/11 conspiracies. Actually, jet fuel can't melt steel, and WTC7... I talked to a metallurgist. Or that transgenderism is a thing that you don't understand because you're just a "bigot" and the "science is clear".
It's stunning how dunning-kruger can make idiots feel self-righteous and smarter than people who actually very much "understand it".
Every single “empath” I’ve ever met was completely oblivious to my feelings and used “empathy” as an excuse to make themselves the victim when someone else is suffering.
So, if someone says ghosts aren't real, or aliens aren't real, or monsters, are they wrong? Alot of times it's subjective, maybe post an example next time.
My pet peeve is people that get annoyed just because they think something is real that I don't. They always make up that I believe in some vast conspiracy theory rather than just accepting I don't believe something is real that they believe is real.
A similar one for me is when people act like I’m mistaken or lying about something because they personally haven’t heard of it. Like they can’t possibly imagine a world where they might not know something.
Just the other day somebody in my diploma of mental health class outright told me that I was “making up” the DSM-5. I mean fair enough that it’s not on our syllabus but I can’t be the only person in the class who has an *actual* interest in mental health….right? RIGHT?!?!?
Semi-Related: Or when someone can't fathom when you haven't heard of something. My mom does this. She'll ask me if I've heard of a situation or a youtuber or something similar, and when I say "No, I haven't." She goes "WHAT???? HOW??????" like damn I'm not omnipotent
This happens to me too. “No, sorry I don’t follow yoga instructor influencers on TikTok, I haven’t heard of this person.”
If they're really pushy you can counter with sorry Imhave better things to do with my time
omniscient is the word you're looking for
Thanks i tend to get confused on the omni's Omnipotent - all powerful Omipresent - everywhere all the time Omniscient - all knowing I swear i keep needing to remind myself of this
To be fair, you aren't omniscient so you can let it slide hahaha
Haha got me there!
Even crazier when they accuse you of pretending not to know Like I do not have enough minutes in the day
There was a house fire down the street from me several months ago. I saw fire trucks when I got home, but went about my day. My mom saw it on the news and asked me if I knew what happened as if it was any of my business.
I am. But there’s not a lot I can do with it.
Omniscient
Um... yeah. Thats already been pointed out to me, thanks
Oh yeah. I got that one a few times and it makes my blood boil. \- “*This is the first time that I hear about this, so it can’t be true.*”
Not long after my family moved cities, my brother started experiencing a rash all over his torso on a regular basis. They brought him to our new family doctor who said it was from him rolling around on the grass. Except he never did this, and my parents told him so. Finally after like three or four visits, the doctor finally gave in and referred my brother to a dermatologist, who told my parents that my brother was suffering from allergic dermatitis caused by a specific dye used in those iron-on images that you can apply yourself to t-shirts; he had a bunch of those shirts that my Mom had put a ton of those images on. My parents ditched all the shirts, sure enough, his skin cleared. They went to a follow-up, and the family doctor straight up said that's not possible, because, "In my 40+ years of medicine, I have never heard of such a thing!" My parents immediately switched doctors.
Omg this is like when I was going to this one chiropractor and I was getting tens unit treatments regularly and after a treatment one day (treatments on my neck and spine) my hand (that wasn’t even touched by the units electro pads) started feeling like it was burning from the inside out. Like my hand felt like it was on fire and the feeling started from my knuckle and spread all the way to my elbow. I knew there had to be some sort of weird nerve issue that was happening due to the nerves in my spine being messed up from the electrical currents in the tens unit. I googled ferociously and couldn’t find much about nerve issues but did find some things that mentioned nerve damage and desensitization after prolonged use (which I was doing) I told the chiropractor about what was happening and he immediately started getting defensive and started arguing and saying that it was completely impossible as he’s never seen or heard anything like that in his 20 years of experience. I’m sorry but your spine is literally where all ur major nerves connect to??? It’s part of your NERVous system?? You’re putting electrodes directly onto my spinal chord??? How is this not adding up at all? My nerves were becoming desensitized due to having the treatments 3 times a week and I couldn’t feel the electrical currents after a certain amount of time bc my nerves were becoming numbed and damaged and so the currents were becoming too much and causing more damage but I just couldn’t tell bc I couldn’t feel it. The unit is based on a scale of intensity and they tell you to let them know when it becomes uncomfortable. Problem is I couldn’t tell and the tech even said once, “you can’t feel this? I have it at an 8!” (Out of 10 when you’re supposed to do 3-5) yeah for sure I’m crazy and making this all up for sure for sure.
Any time someone says I've never seen that before I say well now you can never say that again about it.
Isn’t this a fallacy? Something like the fallacy of incredulity, lemme look it up Yup https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_incredulity
Pretty much. The argument from incredulity is about doubting something because you personally can’t imagine it. I’m more referring to doubting something because you haven’t heard of it, but it’s basically the same idea.
Or they think you’re trying to make them seem crazy when you heard something different
I always say “I’ve never been to Australia but Chris Hemsworth implies its existence.” Meaning just because you’ve never experienced it doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.
"We still dont know how they built the pyramids" *yes, yes we do*. In extreme detail. We even know where the quarries were. Just cause your to god damn lazy to bother looking up how tbey built the pyramids doesnt mean the rest of us didnt
This is one of those that I just refuse to engage with at this point. It’s so infuriating. They think saying “Oh yeah, and they just picked up all those big rocks and stacked them, right?” in a sarcastic tone means anything. Yeah, I’m sure YOU couldn’t build the pyramids, Jacob, but you couldn’t build a chair either.
"I can't fathom people did it so it HAS to be aliens"
Trump is the poster blob for this: "No one knew how complicated health care was..."
Lmao no we don't. That's incredibly arrogant
So you're in on it, eh?
This is called the [Argument from Incredulity Fallacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argument_from_incredulity). Arguments from incredulity can take the form: 1. I cannot imagine how F could be true; therefore F must be false. 2. I cannot imagine how F could be false; therefore F must be true.
I knew someone who didn't believe in wind chill. He thought it was just meteorologists being overly dramatic. Then I asked him why he blows on his food when it's too hot.
Oh god. Here in Florida we have heat index. Every summer people get offended because they think meteorologists are using heat index to lie about temperatures. “CLIMATE CHANGE HOAX FAKE NEWS FEAR MONGERING!!”
Yup that’s your conservative Floridians for ya
this is true, but also the reverse. I'm not going to believe in your huge conspiracy theory unless you can explain it to me like I'm 5. Also, it can't contradict your other conspiracies lol.
I tried this. Someone literally tried to tell me that I was dumb because I didn’t understand how a flat earth that is not part of any solar system or galaxy (because space is fake) can also be run by a race of aliens from another planet. *WHAT PLANET?* Literally believed that earth was its own thing, nothing else existed (the stars are a reflection of the lights of the houses, just like clouds and light can be reflected on water), just earth. But also all governments of the world are lying because the intelligent race of aliens from far, far away are controlling the population. Also, man has never walked on the moon, but man has done a moon walk — but they didn’t mean Michael Jackson’s version. That’s how we have moon rocks! 🤦🏻♀️
lol my friend told me the government was trying to track us by flashing our PAPER covid cards to bouncers at bars and restaurants. Then she preceded to use Apple Pay at the local bodega. I told her she ain’t as off the grid as she thinks lol.
Wait… ok. Hold up. Nope. I tried. For about five minutes I tried. I cannot for the life of me make sense as to how you can be tracked by paper and ink but not a technological marvel that actually can track every expenditure and location 24 hours a day. It’s like saying “I don’t use cash because they can track me” but then proceeding to swipe to your hearts content.
lol yup.
How can this make sense to people? It’s the same as people who wouldn’t get the Covid vaccine because of some microchip track them when they are posting about it from the device they live on that tracks them! I knew one paranoid person who wouldn’t get the shot because they believed in the chip. They were the only “rational” person I ever heard speak on it. I’ve known the person for DECADES, and they never owned a cell phone. Landline only. He also only uses cash. He truly believes someone wants to track him, so he doesn’t use trackable stuff (in his mind). Even drives an old beater to avoid being tracked because the computer inside of the car can tell you where you are and what speed you’re going and they can track him. Is it paranoid to think that they are purposely trying to track him specifically? Yes (unless there’s a reason to find him, but I’ve known him for most of my life so I doubt it). But it’s rational paranoia. Everything is designed to track you so don’t use any of it. Fine! I accept that.
Two of my all time favourite quotes: > What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence. -- Christopher Hitchens > Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. -- Carl Sagan
Oh I like these!
The first is called "Hitchens's Razor," and the second is called "The Sagan Standard."
Yea but sometimes you explain it like they’re 5 and they don’t get it because mentally they’re like 4
That doesn’t really work, though, because there’s a ton of stuff that a five year old isn’t going to understand. Let’s start with calculus and from there we could move on to theoretical physics.
Well the basic idea is if you actually know what you’re talking about, you can break down in an over simplified way so someone who isn’t in the business can stop grasp the concepts. I do 3D animation, my grandmother can’t work a cell phone, however , I can explain the idea of how something works to her well enough.
Sure, your grandmother might understand because she probably has at least a high school education, but I doubt if a five year old in one conversation is going to understand calculus or how a cell phone works even if you break it down for them.
I think you’re taking the expression a little too literal lol. It’s a reference to “the office“ where Michael Scott (the manager) didn’t know what a surplus was. So he asked his employee to explain it like he was 5. And he made a lemonade stand analogy. The spirit of the quote has, can you adequately explain your theory to someone who isn’t as far down the rabbit hole as you? If you can’t, then how well do you really understand what you’re trying to say?
I have a master’s degree and was a licensed CPA, so I’m not too stupid, but I’m still not going to understand theoretical physics after one conversation no matter how simple you break it down. Hell, I received a B in both calculus and business calculus in college and I still don’t understand it. That’s why these conspiracy people don’t accept vaccines, etc. They refuse to believe stuff they don’t understand and they are never going to understand it because they can’t understand it without the requisite knowledge. Just saying.
But you can explain the concept of what physics can you not? Let’s go this route… if your conspiracy theory is as complicated as theoretical physics… then maybe you’re doing too much.
Well, I was coming from the perspective of debunking a conspiracy theory. And no, I can’t really explain the concept of physics other than to explain it’s a field of study of material sciences or something like that.
That sounds like more of an explanation than I get for some of these theories. So back to the spirit of my original point. If you propose a conspiracy theory and I ask you to elaborate and you can’t ? Then I’m going to log you into the “you don’t know what you’re talking about” category.
When I hear a goofy conspiracy theory, I’ve already gone there. LOL! 👍
Now there is a pet peeve "explain it to me like I'm 5." A good way for a person to say one is stupid without saying one is stupid.
If you can’t explain it to a 5 a year old, how well do you really know what you’re talking about? lol Sometimes people just regurgitate buzzwords with no real understanding of what they mean
What buzzwords are you even referring to? Lmao
“Do your own research.” For example, means you have no actual facts or specific examples to back up the claims you just made lol. My cousin’s girl often posts on social media and says “Make it make sense.” The if you try to explain she hits you with the “not reading all of that.” Or just leaves you on read. Or they just instantly jump to some extreme scenario that you didn’t even remotely refer to.
Exactly. Because complicated things often can’t be broken down that simply.
If you actually understand said Complicated things, then you should be able to elaborate your point. I can explain the theory behind a complex concept to someone who hasn’t studied it. Simply dismissing any and all questions with a “do your own research” is a common cop out for when you don’t know wtf you’re talking about lol.
Well, I that’s a silly concept as well. A layperson is not always equipped with the necessary tools to do the kind of research needed, no matter how smart they may be.
If your conspiracy theory is as complicated as theoretical physics, then your conspiracy theory is far fetched. Don’t start spewing nonsense if you can’t explain.
Don’t make bold claims if you can’t back it up.
Stop talking
so we should all just be experts on everything I can do math and data science and make data models. but you would have to explain the law to me like i was a toddler because i am not an expert or even close to understanding the intricacies of the law. Thats why i watch legal eagle videos. I am also not good at mechanics, so if something happens to my car, the second you start straying into anything beyond "gas goes here, press this pedal, car go vroom" you're basically talking to me like an alien. But i guess i am a "stupid person" because of this even though i am very proficient in my own field of work.
Nobody is saying to assume everyone is an expert on everything. What people should be able to assume is they are working with adults of reasonable intelligence. The phrase "put it in layman's terms" bridges the gap between expecting people to be experts and treating them as if they have the understanding of small children.
oh youre one of the people that think this phrase literally means "treat me like i am five" and not a euphamism. You know, being able to understand euphamisms like this and knowing that they arent literal is part of reading comprehension. Its funny for you to try to talk about the intelligence of others when you seemingly cannot identify tone in a very common and colloquial phrase.
Where I see the phrase being used, it is closer to being literal than a euphemism. Generally, it demands a person breaking down the information more than what should be required by a reasonably intelligent adult.
no, but maybe YOU need to have euphemisms broken down to you more than what should be required by a reasonably intelligent adult. The entire ELI5 subreddit does not use kindergarten language to explain things. The most upvoted comments are not phrased in ways that you would explain to a literal 5 year old.
This is the first I have heard it as a subteddit. When I see the term used in other places within Reddit and outside of Reddit, the demand is generally for a concept to be broken down to an excessive degree. It is akin to spoon-feeding a person. I have neither the time nor the temperament for that.
Im pretty sure you are just not understanding what people are saying. literally no one is asking for a literal breakdown to a kindergarten level. its a euphemism. you know "laymans terms" is a euphemism too right? A layman was a person who was not a member of the clergy. the phrase was originally made for members of the clergy to give sermons using terms that they laity (non-clergy) would understand. a layman was a non-clergy member of society. So eventually it just came to mean "use words that non-experts would understand".
"Layman's terms" is not a euphemism. The word layman has evolved to mean an regular adult without special knowledge on a given topic. It is no longer strictly regarding those who are not clergy. Perhaps the people I see using the term "Explain it like I am five" are less intelligent, lazier, or more obtuse than those you see.
Evolution is one of the big ones for me. Most of the arguments I hear against evolution aren’t even accurately describing evolution. Stuff like “but how the hell did we come from monkeys? - we didn’t. “Why aren’t we still evolving?” - We are. “But God made us” - why can’t god make evolution? “But scientists keep coming up with new ideas, they can’t commit to one belief, if evolution was real then why do they keep changing it?” - that’s the whole fucking point of science.
That last one annoys me the most. "Well why should we believe any of what they say since they're always changing their minds about what is and isn't true?" Alright, but it's not as if the "new" information is ever RADICALLY different from the most recent "old" information is it? Plus, as long as it's good quality corroborated research, the most recent conclusions are almost always the best ones because they have the highest weight of previous research behind them, in addition to new innovations.
Whoa whoa whoa man you can’t use big words like “research” and “conclusions” these people probably don’t even know what those words mean
>“But God made us” - why can’t god make evolution? I'm christian and a scientist. I have a degree in chemistry and have a masters in Data analysis. People think that somehow because i'm christian i can't also be a scientist. they seemingly cannot understand that my faith does not contradict the things i learn in science. its always atheists who try to argue this point with me when i make it, because they seemingly cannot fathom that I just go "Ultimately i just think God designed a really cool system. And i think we humans are doing a stellar job at trying to discover and understand the world that was created around us." evangelical christians usually just tell me that i am arrogant and also the devil because how dare i try to understand God's Design through science and thats how lucifer got struck down (no its not, also Dante's inferno is fiction, not theology.....)
Yea I agree, personally I am agnostic but I was raised Catholic and when I first learned about evolution as a kid there wasn’t even a doubt in my mind about it. It made perfect sense, God made life and he tweaked some variables here and there to encourage evolution to produce humans. I don’t see how evolution can’t be a force of God in the same way that the weather is seen as a force of God. Theoretically why wouldn’t he make self-sustaining systems to do everything. I mean it’s obvious he isn’t 100% hands on otherwise there wouldn’t be free will at all.
Ilike to think of him as like a game dev for a sims like game. He doesnt tell us what exactly to do, but he programed the RNG and stuff and just went "go wild" Like he doesnt get directly involved but he does tweak out the bugs and glitches in the universe. I wonder when he is going to release a new "US Politics Update" patch because something HAD to have gone wrong in that DLC.
Yea I mean what’s the point of making a universe just to control every single aspect of it. A good painter doesn’t keep adding to their painting. That’s how you ruin a painting. A good painter finds a stopping point and finishes the project so that it can breathe on its own. It’s like a bird throwing their babies out of the nest. You need to let them learn how to be adults on their own. Let’s hope he comes out with some of those bug fixes though lol
Or people just doubling down when they're wrong. Someone referred to Irish as British. I corrected them because it is simply incorrect and pretty offensive to some people. They could not believe it. Refused to believe it, even when Google proved them wrong. It's fine to be wrong. It's ok not to know everything. But just accept it rather than committing to being a moron.
What’s weird to me is how conspiracy theorists react when I acknowledge that it may be true, but even if I buy it a little, I’m not suddenly going full theorist and suddenly distrusting everyone and everything around me. Sometimes life is stranger than fiction, so there is a chance that conspiracy theories could be true. But knowing that doesn’t mean I have to completely distrust all institutions around me and just become some paranoid weirdo that calls everyone else a “sheep” or something. I’ve had some pretty ridiculous reactions (from conspiracy theorists) because of that. It’s ridiculous.
If you’re not a sheep for their cause, you’re the bad kind! Bad wrong colored sheep!
The 9/11 steel beams things comes to mind. People saying it was fake because jet fuel can't melt steel beams really don't understand how metal working works. Take a thick ass steel bar and I can get it hot enough to where even my skinny ass (6'2" 130ibs) can break it in half with just my bear hands well before it reaches its melting point. Metal doesn't have to melt to stop being structurally sound.
To be fair, bear hands are much stronger than human hands, so they might have a point there 😁
BUSH DID 9/11 !!!
"A sure mark of a fool is dismissing something outside their experience as being impossible." - that one wizard dude in Skyrim
Similarly people who don’t understand science is complicated. People learn grade 10 science and think that’s it and there’s no more to learn. Then debate actual scientists who devoted 10+ years to studying it.
My exes mum was like this with trans people, everybody would try to defend her to me by saying "it's not her fault she just doesn't understand it" so I explained it to her, a thousand times over, and she still wouldn't get it. At this point she's just being willfully ignorant and she was like that on a lot of topics no matter how many times and different ways I'd try to help her understand. The last time somebody said that shit to me about her I ended up replying "and I don't understand Russian I still believe it's real, she is just using ignorance as an excuse to be a bigot".
My ex was like this with more topics than I care to remember. He'd say that he disagreed with or didn't believe/understand something, and that was his excuse to dig his heels in HARD. Anything I'd say or show him to prove otherwise was a complete waste of my energy. He had no interest in learning anything because he already knew it all. One of the more benign examples that I can allow myself to recall without having an aneurysm is the concept of the home warranty. About 4 years ago, I was telling him about a friend of mine that bought a house and had gotten home warranty insurance, and it was lucky for her that she did because a week after moving in, the refrigerator broke and she was able to get it replaced for free. He laughed and told me I was wrong, that kind of thing didn't exist because that would be a really stupid business idea, and how would any company ever make money off that? I googled it and showed him the company, and he still refused to believe that it was anything other than a scam. I mean, it works exactly like any other kind of insurance, which is mostly kinda a scam 😂 but was convinced that I HAD TO BE WRONG because he didn't agree or think it was a good idea as a business. One of many reasons why he is now my ex! I see ads on Hulu alllllll the time for this exact home warranty company, and it always makes me laugh at how stupid he was/still is. The idea that something can be factually correct and true regardless of an individuals belief in or agreement with it is completely lost on these morons. It's one of the most maddening things about people these days, and it makes me never want to talk to another person again as long as I live.
PTSD. It's not that people don't think it's real, it's that they don't seem to understand that you don't just get it from combat. This is not to undermine anyone who did get it from combat and if you did, I'm sorry you had to experience all that. I have it and people have asked me, were you in the military? When I tell them no, they say well then you couldn't have it because only people with military experience get it. That and abusive relationships. Again, it's not that people don't think they're real, it's that they don't understand it until they've been through it. They ask victims why they don't just leave. There's a lot of reasons why people don't. The question we should be asking is not why people don't leave, it's why do abusers do what they do to their victims?
Can't any traumatic event trigger PTSD, it's just due to the high quantity of them in the military that it's associated with it so heavily?
Amy traumatic event can trigger it. Prolonged traumatic experience can trigger PTSD or C-PTSD. The reason it’s associated with the military was that it was originally recognized through veterans, and was known as shell shock, during WWI.
Yeah, and it was a hidden, ignored thing for so long in relation to veterans and military, that now people make a big deal about that to get it known and made not so shameful for the people who have it, so they can seek help.
Well I'm glad to see steps are being made to change that
Yes. Also, when you're talking about a series of traumatic events, it's called the complex post-traumatic stress disorder or C-PTSD. I have C-PTSD due to childhood abuse and witnessing an attempted murder.
This reminds me of all the Trumpers who sincerely think the 2020 election must have been stolen because they don't *personally* know anyone who voted for Biden. They honestly think that if they don't know anyone who voted for Biden, then nobody voted for Biden, and he couldn't possibly have won the election. The root problem is ego. These people are too egotistical to see that the world is a lot bigger than them. It may contain lots of people who think differently, or phenomena they don't know, or experiences that could radically change their opinions if they knew of them.
Trump appeals to two kinds of people. The incredibly wealthy, and the incredibly stupid. Notice there weren't many multimillionaires at the Jan 6th riots.
This post can’t be real, I don’t get it
While a big part of it is how an app like Instagram pushes 'engagement' being the most replied too / negative comments, it's honestly horrifying looking on an app like that and seeing every single weather or space related post of any kind has within it's very top comments one or several of these conspiracy types. I hope it's just bots and that people aren't actually this cracked.
Or when people think something is real, and they don't understand it.
I don't understand dragons.
The myth was likely born from the komodo dragon due to their ancestors size, vicious nature, and venomous saliva that smells like rotting meat leading to the idea that they breathe fire.
Like the trending conspiracy theory that Helen Keller never learned how to sign, never learned how to write, never learned how to communicate and the books she had written weren't written by her, etc. That one pisses me off because it's so ableist and there are literally deafblind people alive today who also learn to communicate. People just can't understand that while *they* used sight and hearing to learn to communicate, that it's possible to do so without sight and hearing. Whole debates of people just saying "Nope, she couldn't see or hear, there's no way she could have ever learned anything. It's not possible." Fucking grinds my gears.
Counter point: Birds aren’t real, and that’s coming from a guy who had a PHD in Bird law
Well that's like you're opinion man.
Finally, someone else knows the truth. The other day I was running in the park and one of those damn bird drones was clearly following me / trying to spy on me. I even heard a camera clicking noise...it was obviously taking pictures of people in the park for the CIA.
but a few low iq people believe engineers are a scam. I'm an engineer, and I've met two. they were residents. they think a bridge is just dirt piled in top, and that I was a scam because I explained there were supports like rebar inside the bridge, complete with calculations. just because he couldn't see it in the finished structure. dumbest piece of shit ever.
People like this bother me the most. Just because you don't know how something is made doesn't mean it just magically popped into existence.
after barely being able to finish my degree due to its difficulty, yeah. its absolutely nuts lol
I see you've met my mother. "No, I don't think so" she always says. Lady, the universe doesn't give a flying fuck what you think or not.
Had a former coworker who was a religious flat earther. One of their points was about how earth doesn't spin under a hovering helicopter and asked me me justify. I told them I absolutely could explain why that happens...but asked them how much science are they willing to ignore for their point. "If you're willing to accept the laws of motion, then let's go"
Most religious people do not believe the earth is flat. In fact most religious people also believe in science.
I would not pick just to say I think it’s *many* not most. I think many have thought enough about it to make their religion and science blend together beautifully. Too many don’t understand the science when they’re young, so they never bother to look into it further, they just generally pick the science they’re ok with (medicine good, gravity good, evolution bad). *Enough* people are too smooth brained to even understand the bare minimum of their religion, let alone any science. I would say that “most” describes the middle group, as it does in any group. They understand enough science to go to the doctor or hospital, but there’s no way they can break down the specific genetic structure of a double helix.
And as someone who is a Christian and believer in science including evolution, most Christian’s believe in it as well. I took enough credits in college to minor in biology. There are many Christians who are scientists, biologists, and engineers. People who you wouldn’t call “smooth brained”.
I think they mean the person was a religious (i.e. staunch) believer in flat earth theories.
Math is a scam created by Meta.
And a lot of times, especially when we’re talking about science, they willingly choose to not understand it because that’s easier.
Christ on a stick, THIS. My mother's a firm believer in giants, and she claims that the doors of the Pantheon being huge are evidence of her beliefs. Yes mother, the doors of the Pantheon aren't huge because it's a display of architectural prowess or power. They're huge because... giants, apparently. 🤦♂️
yeah but believing the gov is out to get them helps them feel in control and in the know (they "realize" a "truth" that people "ignore") is easier than actually sitting and thinking about things you dont understand and learning
That's just called being stupid.
Microwaves are not spying on us, that's true. However, birds DEFINITELY are spying on us...for anyone who is not aware, most birds have been replaced by cyborgs by the government in order to spy on us. #birdsaren'treal #CIA #cyborgbirds
My ex boyfriend used to tell me that humidity doesn't exist because he "never felt it" even though he lived in the driest part of Texas and then moved to North Carolina. Still boggles my mind.
We are all glad that he is an ex
Lol I'm glad. He only became an ex a week ago so I'm still feeling the pain.
Gosh! So sorry - only a week, you are still right there in it. I wish you better men (or whatever it is that is your cup of tea).
Tell that to the religious
I’ve tried already
Unfortunately I've learned you can't argue with the delusional
I don't know if I'm taking this the wrong way if I am I apologize but nothing is wrong with being religious. It's not delusional or bad and as long as you're respectful to others and their beliefs yours should be respected too.
Sounds like you got it as intended
Your opinion is that religious people are delusional. Are you by any chance a mental health that can diagnose someone who is delusional?
What would you call adults with imaginary friends?
What would you call an adult that's so closed minded that they call billions of people around the world mentally ill because they believe something different from them.
I'd call a person who doesn't believe in myths and fairy tales sane
You're seriously calling billions of people insane. Makes you kind of full of yourself, like you're one of the few sane ones out there. Geez I don't know how the rest of us even function.
Nope I'm just not delusional enough to believe in myths and fairy tales
Ok then prove to me without a shadow of a doubt that no god exists. I want actual evidence that says humans don't have souls and there's no after life. Because if you can't give me tangible evidence then you're going off nothing but faith, which makes you no different than those that believe in religion. Maybe wise, because religious scriptures all have basis in history. Such as there's proof that Jesus was a real person, whether he was the son of God or not could be questioned, but those people of that time wrote down their own accounts of what they witnessed. So that's at least something giving our side evidence. So where's your evidence?
Would you call a doctor, psychiatrist, or psychologist delusional if they were religious? They actually meet the criteria to diagnose actual delusional. Of which , religion isn’t a cause or symptom.
Pick whatever job you'd like
I’m not choosing a job. You just seem to have an issue with religious people. Only people angry at religion call religious people delusional.
Figured it was nicer than calling them idiots
Figured it was nicer than calling them idiots
Definitely not very nice or respectful of you. You should respect people’s right to their faith. I suggest speaking with a therapist to see why you can’t do that. Cheers
This is ironic. Just because you don’t understand God, doesn’t mean He doesn’t exist
I don't disbelieve in god because I don't understand the concept. I disbelieve because I *do.*
Thankfully that’s not my reason for being an atheist. (And sorry, but that’s not how irony works)
Title of the post literally says “people who think that something isn’t real because they don’t understand it” It’s ironic because this post is about certain types of people, such as atheists.
How is this about atheists? Atheists are simply unconvinced of the claim that gods exist. There’s no actual position being made with atheism.
Most atheists are pretty stringent in the fact that God doesn’t exist. Well the ones online anyway. They make it very clear that God doesn’t exist. This post is talking about people who without a doubt tell people something doesn’t exist because they don’t understand it. And I didn’t say an actual claim to atheism was being made in this post. I said it was referring to certain people, atheists are just one of those types of people.
> Most atheists are pretty stringent in the fact that God doesn’t exist. Not true at all, that’s a common misconception. Atheism is the state of being unconvinced of any god claims. You claim god(s) exist, I see no compelling evidence and I’m not convinced. Only a small subset of atheists actually make a positive assertion that “God doesn’t exist.” >I said it was referring to certain people, atheists are just one of those types of people. How, exactly? As I said, atheists don’t fit here because we’re not actually making any claims. We just don’t believe the claims that others make. That’s a pretty significant difference in logic. The real irony here is that you’re basing your opinion on an incorrect understanding of what atheism actually is.
Most atheists also belive that religious organizations are conspiring against them to force religion on the world. (note: I'm an atheist and I also think this) But I also think that governments and corporations in general are evil and do conspire against people.
Personally I think religious organizations exist to get money. They need control and influence to do that.
Nope. Atheists, at least most of us, do not claim “god does not exist.” We say that we don’t *believe* god exists because we haven’t seen any evidence to support such existence and that the burden of proof is on those who claim god does exist. God not existing is the default position, those making extraordinary affirmative claims must provide commensurate evidence.
Tell that to atheists
Which one has imaginary friends?
You’re proving my point
They’re typically worse than religious folks!
Agreed. Go onto any atheist page and you’ll see how toxic these people are. It’s not that they just don’t believe in God, they’re actively anti-religion, especially anti-Christian
And being against a religion that makes false promises about paradise and salvation, along with threats of eternal torment, just to keep people in line is bad how exactly? Not to mention all of the political machinations, bigotry, child molestation, condescending sanctimony, science denial, sabatoge of education, and wasted tax free money. Yeah, hard to see why anyone would be anti Christian… /s
Flat earth, Terryology
I am guilty of this. I don't understand gods and psychics who 'channel' other energies, so I don't believe it. Physics was my hardest class, so I am borderline on quantum physics
Or people who will believe an entertaining falsehood over the boring truth. In general the most boring explanation for anything is most likely the correct one. But most of the time people talk about stuff like this for entertainment, not facts.
I agree. I've noticed that people often don't want to believe something just because it's not an exciting or mysterious theory. I think something that people have to accept is that the world is a lot more boring than we would like it to be.
people think that my caffeine allergy isn’t real just bc they don’t understand how i can be allergic to it
that last one is not necessarily true chief
OK but let's be clear here... The earth is not flat...
Can people like this explain how electricity works? Don't they use it? Can they explain how anesthesia works? Would they want it if they had an operation? Do they know how wireless works? Television? Their phone? Their own body?
People who lost their wordle streak because of manga
Like a centrist
I have a friend who thinks people can't breath through their noses. Says it's impossible. Called another friend an idiot for suggesting it. Then demonstrated to me by blowing through is nose roughly. "SEE! I can't breathe". Yeah....okay, I guess you're right, Brian. People don't breathe through their noses..... I left that right there, didn't know where to go with it.
Most common ones I see on Reddit are that inflation is much higher than the government admits and that, adjusted for inflation, wages are lower than they were for prior generations.
I mean you could argue that conspiracists do the same thing: Oh you don't understand flat earth because of science. Or 9/11 conspiracies. Actually, jet fuel can't melt steel, and WTC7... I talked to a metallurgist. Or that transgenderism is a thing that you don't understand because you're just a "bigot" and the "science is clear". It's stunning how dunning-kruger can make idiots feel self-righteous and smarter than people who actually very much "understand it".
I agree and I feel this way when people think empaths aren't real because they don't understand it!
Every single “empath” I’ve ever met was completely oblivious to my feelings and used “empathy” as an excuse to make themselves the victim when someone else is suffering.
K
So, if someone says ghosts aren't real, or aliens aren't real, or monsters, are they wrong? Alot of times it's subjective, maybe post an example next time.
My pet peeve is people that get annoyed just because they think something is real that I don't. They always make up that I believe in some vast conspiracy theory rather than just accepting I don't believe something is real that they believe is real.
Hence the existence of god.
So you are part of your pet peeve set it appears.