A "win for critical thinking" anecdote

ObscureReferenceMan

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ObscureReferenceMan
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I was at the dentist the other day. As I sat in the chair, the dental hygenist started talking to me about a terrible car accident that happened nearby - a drunk driver crashed and killed several other people in the car, including some children. She made a comment like, "What's wrong with someone like that?" To which I replied how it was probably an alcoholic, who was not aware of the effect of alcohol on one's system. After a little back and forth, I mentioned critical thinking skills. And she said, "I've never heard of that. What is it?" That was all I needed. :)

I proceeded to talk about logical fallacies, cognitive fallacies and memory bias. She had never heard of these. And it took her a while to realize how people could be fooled. This lead to various "paranormal" subjects, which she "knew" were bogus. But I went on a bit about how people - even smart people - could be fooled. And the topic of skepticism came up as well. She was truly stunned. This was fascinating information to her.

Even when I touched lightly on the subject of religion, she seemed to have second thoughts. Especially when I posed a favorite question - would you rather believe the comforting lie, or the uncomfortable truth? (I think that was a mangling of a Carl Sagan quote.) And she opted for truth (as opposed to a co-worker of mine who prefers the lie - oh well).

Before I left, I got her email address, and the next day sent her information on the topics we (OK, I) talked about. I included several skeptic sites (JREF, NESS, skepchick, etc.) as well. My normally 30 minute appointment took more than an hour, but oh well.

I haven't heard back from her yet, but I like to think she has started a journey on the road of skepticism.

Just thought I'd share. Thanks for listening!
 
This is a great story, but I think I'm mostly impressed that you managed to have such a coherent conversation while in the dentist's chair and not just inarticulate grunts.
 
I find this story encouraging and your patience and ability to explain admirable. But you mean "led" not "lead".
 
I find it sad that people can be "educated", reach adulthood, have responsibilities for others, and yet have never been exposed to the concept. :(

'tis to despair for society. :scared:
 
Gord_in_Toronto said:
I find it sad that people can be "educated", reach adulthood, have responsibilities for others, and yet have never been exposed to the concept. :(
Click to expand...

True. Too often, when I hear someone spouting "woo", I just keep my mouth closed, and move on. I know there's no use trying to educate them. But in this case, I realized that I was dealing with a reasonably educated person (I assume you have to be, to be a dental hygenist), and one that was curious about the subject. So, though it's too early to claim victory, I will remain hopeful.
 
Yay! Terrific story!


Gord_in_Toronto said:
I find it sad that people can be "educated", reach adulthood, have responsibilities for others, and yet have never been exposed to the concept. :(

'tis to despair for society. :scared:
Click to expand...

Well, why not? I wouldn't expect the average person to be a skeptic (or a believer in the paranormal) any more than I would expect everyone to, say, have an opinion on politics.

Most people who follow politics have a casual/minor interest. Some people are complete agnostics. It's a minority that would be able to tell you about, say, the intricacies of the recall and make an argument for or against it.

Same with the paranormal- even most people who are into it aren't heavily invested in it. And a lot of people really have no experience one way or another. To find someone heavily on the left is as rare as to find someone heavily on the right and everyone else falls in between.

Before I discovered Penn and Teller, I had no idea such things as psychic detectives, chiropractic and Feng Shui even existed. Mediums I had very vaguely heard of in the context of seances and crystal balls but didn't know that modern day mediums existed and had never heard of John Edward and the rest. Ghosts, the Loch Ness monster, Bigfoot, the Yeti, fortune telling, the JFK conspiracy theories and astrology were things I heard of, because it's impossible to be alive and not know they are alleged to exist.

I was neutral on them, vaguely believed in them or didn't believe in them- but due to lack of interest, not scientific skepticism. I also didn't believe them due to common sense, but not because of a method of skepticism/critical thinking (which I also had never heard of) or scientific or rational reasons.

If it wasn't for Penn and Teller's show, I might have gone my entire lifetime without knowing such a thing as skepticism existed.
 
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