Notice the significant difference between saying:
“I believe that 5G may cause physical harm to us.” or
“I believe vaccines may be harmful.”
VS.
“~Insert powerful person~ is using vaccines to kill off half the population and track us using microchips.” or
“The Earth is flat, and science is an atheist religion built by Jesuits to hide the true nature of our existence.”
You must know the difference. One is an exploratory query that prompts one to do research, seek information, and NOT confirmation. It asks questions, starts a discussion, begs for more knowledge and understanding.
The others are definitive statements that result is fear, distrust, and can’t be falsified. THAT is the key. Statements that can not be proven false are nice to think about when you’re high but have NO real-world application.
You are allowed to think about, feel, and believe what you please. You can believe you have a dragon in your garage. (illustration from Carl Sagan’s “Demon-Haunted World”).
That’s fine, but when you start taking actions and propagating your belief amongst others, then you have to PROVE that there is a dragon in your garage. Your statement has to falsifiable, meaning if your claim CAN NOT be proven false, then does it have utility in the real world?
Can someone prove that COVID-19 is the coming of Armageddon ushered in by Bill Gates in the disguise of a vaccine? No? Then what problem are you solving? How does this help us with COVID-19? What are you doing besides spreading fear and mistrust?
I don’t care for most doctors. My experience has been they don’t look at me as a unique patient; they look at aggregate data with little to no regard for outliers or personalization. They are less knowledgeable than pharmacists when it comes to prescribing medication and less caring than nurses when it comes to solving my ailments. But do I claim that they are out to get me? If I have a medical issue, who am I going to go to first?
That’s right, a doctor. Why? Because I don’t have the means, knowledge, skills, or experience to supersede that of a trained professional.
Yes, they may be a “sheep” doing what is popular and may overlook my unique symptoms in favor of conventional wisdom. But that doesn’t mean there is mal intent or a conspiracy to degrade my health.
That ALSO doesn’t mean that NO one has ill intent. That doesn’t mean that there is no one in power has the intent to kill people, perpetrate massive evil or selfish desires.
What this means is that I will NOT sacrifice my desire to feel safe and a confirmation of my beliefs to supersede accuracy, truth, and reality. I will not allow my “intuition” to replace raw analysis. **(Example: Subatomic particles can be defined as “things that occupy space. This idea is intuitive because that’s our experience with EVERYTHING in our reality. Experimentation and raw analysis tell us that subatomic particles are BOTH energy and mass AND can not be isolated via time and space but only pinpointed using probability. Einstein hated this, and spent his dying days trying to prove this false.)**
When I ask questions, I intend to solve problems and create utility in the world, not destroy institutions based on unfounded, unfalsifiable, and generally negative and unproductive beliefs and accusations.
When you share some radical thought or idea, ask yourself, “What are my intentions here.”
Ask questions, research, empower yourself to make educated decisions. But stop going down rabbit holes that make you feel safe, but solve no problems and only create fear and mistrust. Think critically, learn the scientific method, learn what it means to falsify.
I also recommend Carl Sagan’s “A Demon-Haunted World.” I also recommend reading “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck” by Mark Mason. Don’t let the title mislead you. He outlines the self-illuminating and self-actualizing questions that we should ask ourselves that will reveal our true intentions when we do things.
