A thought on rationalization and logic
I heard this on a show, and I thought it was a really good quote from David Sklansky.
There is a syndrome well known among doctors, but not too well known among the public. When somebody has a stroke and becomes paralyzed on one side of their body, they often deny it. Think about that. They cannot move one side of their body, and they will tell you and pass a polygraph that they are not paralyzed. If you ask them why they are not moving that arm, they will say they don't feel like it, but that they are not paralyzed.
I have always considered this fact to be extremely salient, because it shows the capacity to rationalize rather than face the unpleasant truth is astonishing in human beings. This is yet another reason why you must train yourself to be scientific and accept the results of logic or experiments. You cannot trust your own opinions.
There is a syndrome well known among doctors, but not too well known among the public. When somebody has a stroke and becomes paralyzed on one side of their body, they often deny it. Think about that. They cannot move one side of their body, and they will tell you and pass a polygraph that they are not paralyzed. If you ask them why they are not moving that arm, they will say they don't feel like it, but that they are not paralyzed.
I have always considered this fact to be extremely salient, because it shows the capacity to rationalize rather than face the unpleasant truth is astonishing in human beings. This is yet another reason why you must train yourself to be scientific and accept the results of logic or experiments. You cannot trust your own opinions.