Backwards to a Foreword

I started these writings with the intent of making mostly comedic style social observations. But opinions are like arseholes- everyone's got one- and as if often the way- the original intent is not what has eventuated, as the darker side of my mind has been very much in control lately.

All my writings are essentially a point of view or recollections of lived experiences. As with witness statements, which are not admissible as evidence in court due to the high rate of inaccuracy- sometimes what I feel, think or remember won't be the same as other people who may have been present for the same events.

They are my thoughts, feelings and memories, and may not necessarily represent those of people represented in them.

Monday, 7 May 2012

Knowing your shit vs knowing you're shit

One thing I find myself persistently frustrated by is the stupidity of others. While to a certain extent I try to life by the adage:

Never argue with a stupid person; they drag you down to their level then beat you with experience.


how do we know what is stupid or crazy? Thousands of years ago there were some influential figures who claimed to be receiving or channelling messages from deities.
These days, if you hear voices, you receive a prescription for anti-psychosis medications and a clinical management plan with a team of specialists.
I was reading through a psychology proposal which featured a measurement instrument, the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale 25 www.cd-risc.com , at work today and noted the following item:
3. When there are no clear solutions to my problems, sometimes fate or God can help
People are asked to respond on a 5 point Scale from 0- not at all true to 4- true nearly all the time
On face value you might think- sure, these seem like reasonable statements, and that any extreme answer could indicate a problem, e.g. "God/fate will always take care of things".
Now consider the inverse- the response of "I believe it is never true that God/ Fate will help with my problem". Hmm, what a negative response, you might think on face value. As an atheist, however, I find it amusing that people cannot cope with the fact I do not believe there is a God or in concepts like fate, and feel the need to suggest there is a problem with my sanity for it.
I accept that many people are religious and have these beliefs, but do not personally ascribe to them. To have included such an item in a tool designed to measure people's mental state of being is interesting- in that it potentially rejects the tenet that any atheist could be completely sane.
It takes an incredible arrogance to assume that your beliefs or a cultural norm are RIGHT and any other beliefs are WRONG or even suggestive of poor mental health. Yet it is the default position adopted by so many, as beautifully described by the Dunning- Kruger effect:
It is one of the essential features of such incompetence that the person so afflicted is incapable of knowing that he is incompetent. [or in other words, some people are too stupid to realise they're stupid] To have such knowledge would already be to remedy a good portion of the offense. - Miller
http://people.psych.cornell.edu/~dunning/publications/pdf/unskilledandunaware.pdf
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