I think one of the worst things that can happen to a person is to be in an argument trying to debunk nonsense. Like things that are so crazy and untrue, you almost can’t believe that someone can actually conceive it as an idea. And so, you have to get to work debunking such things. At first, you try changing the person’s mind, hoping they’ll see reason when you show them the light. But you’re wrong, you realize that they don’t really care about reason because as far as they’re concerned, you are the one saying nonsense.
So, if you can’t change their minds about their stance, you then try to show that their claims are false. Sadly, the more you debunk, the more they insist. And at a point, it’ll look like you’re fighting a lost battle because it will seem like you’re doing nothing at all to make your case. And that’s where the conundrum is.
You see, many times, trying to debunk nonsense is not always as easy as it is to say nonsense. Someone can wake up one day and say that milk from cows is poisonous and they cause cancer, but the farmers and doctors won’t tell you this because they want to keep selling milk and selling you chemotherapy. Now, it’s been said, and it’s out there! As crazy and insane as it sounds, there will be people who will believe it.
There will be those who will remember that their mother died of cancer and she used to drink a lot of milk. Those might be two unconnected events, but thanks to this claim, there is now a connection. And now, you come in, the one who knows the truth and wants to prove them wrong. You know that cow milk is not poisonous and doesn’t cause cancer, and you say it as is. But no one believes you, and you’re forced to run in-depth research to prove that cow milk and cancer have nothing in common. Meanwhile, the person who said this didn’t have to do all that. They simply had to say it! But for you, saying it won’t be enough, you have to prove it.
What happens then when the person doubles down? They can come on to say that nine out of ten people who drink milk end up with cancer. Is this a lie? No, because milk is a global product and almost everyone drinks it. So, the likelihood that a cancer patient once drank milk is very high. This is how people will make connections where there are no connections. It’s just like saying drinking water in the morning will increase your chances of having a car accident. Everyone drinks water in the morning, both drivers and non-drivers. But accidents have nothing at all to do with the water you drank. Unless it’s spiked.
So, what am I trying to say here? It’s not easy trying to prove that something is nonsense. And most of the time, it only makes you sound foolish to others like you. Because imagine trying to tell your colleagues that you were arguing about milk being the cause of cancer or water causing car accidents. They’ll want to know why you’re even in that conversation to begin with. But sadly, herein lies the problem.
Lies like these tend to spread really fast, and this misinformation can be believed to the point where people will make dangerous decisions as a result of it. Which is why many people will still have to come forward to debunk them, regardless of how it makes them look. A lie can be said, and by the time the truth is ready to be said, the lie would have circulated so much that it’s now seen as fact.
Such a crazy world we live in!
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