Why people think total nonsense is really deep

[Alan C.]

Why people think total nonsense is really deep
 

Take the sentence "wholeness quiets infinite phenomena." It's complete and utter nonsense. In fact, it was randomly generated by a Web site. And many might have seen this immediately, or realized it after thinking it through.

But the truth is that a surprising number of people would likely have called the bogus statement profound.

"A lot of people are prone to what I call pseudo-profound bulls***," said Gordon Pennycook, a doctorate student at the University of Waterloo who studies why some people are more easily duped than others.

"Wholeness quiets infinite phenomena" was one of many randomly generated sentences Pennycook, along with a team of researchers at the University of Waterloo, used in a new four-part study put together to gauge how receptive people are to nonsense.

. . .

The precise reasons that people see profundity in vague buzzwords or syntactic but completely random sentences are unknown. Some people might not realize the reason they don't understand something is simply because there is nothing to understand. Or they might just approach things they hear and read less skeptically.

There are also a few characteristics that seem to correlate with those who are more prone to pseudo-profound language. Specifically, the researchers tested willingness to accept pseudo profound statements along with a host of other personality characteristics. As they describe:

 

Those more receptive to bull**** are less reflective, lower in cognitive ability (i.e., verbal and fluid intelligence, numeracy), are more prone to ontological confusions [beliefs in things for which there is no empirical evidence (i.e. that prayers have the ability to heal)] and conspiratorial ideation, are more likely to hold religious and paranormal beliefs, and are more likely to endorse complementary and alternative medicine.

 

"I would say that a lot of people are just far too open to everything," said Pennycook. "They aren't skeptical or critical enough of what they hear and read."

 

Far too many people are credulous and feeble-minded. They're never taught to think critically, skeptically, and analytically.

[MrCapitalism]

I disagree. People have been openly discouraged from skepticism and critical analysis, almost their entire lives, by their schools and churches.

[MrCapitalism]

Sorry about that. This statement by Alan,

 

 

They're never taught to think critically, skeptically, and analytically.

[Alan C.]

They're never taught to think critically, skeptically, and analytically.

 

People have been openly discouraged from skepticism and critical analysis, almost their entire lives, by their schools and churches.

 

These statements aren't mutually exclusive, and I agree with what you said.

 

People are often harassed, threatened, and abused for asking questions; particularly in religious families.

[dsayers]

This distinction is why it's so important to understand that things like religion and government schools aren't irrational, they're anti-rational. They displace rational thought. When somebody thinks they have the answer, they stop looking for the right answer. Which is why open-mindedness and curiosity, questions like "how do you know (even of yourself)?" are such a commodity.

[Matthew Ed Moran]

"Wholeness quiets infinite phenomena..

 

So true, man.

 

So true.

 

Just the other night I like, couldn't sleep because there were sirens all along. I just like, channeled my wholeness to get some peace and quiet, just to put an end to the infinite phenomena.

 

You like, know what I mean, Bro? Bro.. are you even listening? Ah, channeling your wholeness, well played, Bro."

[AccuTron]

Why people think total nonsense is really deep

 

 

Far too many people are credulous and feeble-minded. They're never taught to think critically, skeptically, and analytically.

 

 

Ann Landers:  "Don't be so open minded that your brains fall out."

 

I live in a Groovy City.  Many people here are idiots.  Rational honesty is scorned.  No commercial aircraft fly directly overhead for fear of hitting the egos.  (Yes, after birds, egos are the number two cause of engine flameouts.)  

 

So I follow the thread here.

 

On the other hand...

 

The words are so vague as to contain no actual pin-it-down meaning.  Which means all possibilities are now available to the mind.  (We interrupt here to note that the quality of said mind influences what happens next, as would the physical condition of a proposed hiker.)

 

Give a hiker a map which says You Are Here, with four trail heads.  But each trail is shown for only a few meters, then it's blank paper.  The map is useless.  All the hiker can expect is to wander.  Yet many discoveries, notably in science, are found by serendipity.

 

As land might have ravines which channel the search, the mind will quickly link concepts, even if by the thinnest means.  This creates an instant mental map.  Vague, poor quality, yet not quite blank.  Like when dark shapes on Mars were seen with poor lenses, canals emerged from the imagination.  The Mars canals were bogus, but the imagination might come up with something.  Turbo daydreaming.  Getting out for a mental leg stretch at minimum.

[A4E]

Yes We Can

 

Change We Can Believe In

 

 

Note that while "Yes We Can" may be nonsense, it actually is something sensical when played backwards.