Handling Crackpots: Engage or Ignore?

[Ryan_m_b]

We were talking about the idea of beliefs in isolation. When it comes to arenas like national politics, these false beliefs can be and should be, and you can bet, will be exposed.

That was a big point I was making, no one lives in isolation. Beliefs determine actions, actions affect others. Whether it's at a national political level or just when chatting over a pint.

 

[bigfooted]

It's good to read about how others deal with this, inside the forum and in the real world.
I find it especially hard to point out to friends that water with salt or alcohol is not going to do anything useful. "It really works, I got better!". Yes, you would also have gotten better without it... A typical example of pseudo-science that got out of control.

That reminds me: I still have to read some philosophy posts...

 

[Super Luminal]

You have cannot be indignant or condemning to someone who holds a false belief if you want to help them. You must be kind and respectful--as hard as that often is, I know. A person, even an extremely intelligent person, can cling almost endlessly to a fallacious belief if they are emotionally invested in said belief, and the belief becomes almost like a part of them because of that. Learning, evolving, and understanding life all can be filled with perils which sometimes leads to pretty smart people believing unbelievable things. Before anyone can assist anyone, the helper must make sure that the--for lack of a better term--victim wants help. There needs to be an agreement there. You cannot truly help an individual that does not want it. You can try, but your time and energy would be better spent even praying for that person instead.

If you're so inclined to help someone the first thing that you need to do is determine whether or they will entertain other points of view. If they are open to that you can proceed on to sharing your views with them in with hopes that you help them better understand a certain concept.

Unfortunately, some "crackpots" are less curious than the are already convinced. They don't seek to understand, they seek to proselytize. Maybe they are religious fanatics or perhaps suffer from one or many mental disorders; are they hoaxing trolls, or perhaps they are simply just very stupid people? Maybe a combination of all those things--anyway, this latter group isn't going to be helped by anyone in internet forum So if you suspect someone is of this group I would advise to just ignore them until the show you some evidence otherwise.

 

[Ryan_m_b]

It's good to read about how others deal with this, inside the forum and in the real world.
I find it especially hard to point out to friends that water with salt or alcohol is not going to do anything useful. "It really works, I got better!". Yes, you would also have gotten better without it... A typical example of pseudo-science that got out of control.

That reminds me: I still have to read some philosophy posts...

That's a combination of placebo effect, confirmation bias and post hoc ergo propter hoc.

 

[D H]

This thread has been closed because it has become a magnet for crackpots to discuss their "theories".