[ale] [OT] Signature

[Michael B. Trausch]

On Wed, 2007-05-02 at 09:48 -0400, Jim wrote:

> Jeff Lightner wrote:
> > Of course he asserts that view without evidence to support it... :p
> >
> > Unfortunately while I like the quote my experience with the crowd
> that
> > believes in big supernatural beings is they use the "Book"s as
> > "evidence" that the "Book"s are true.   Hard to fight with that kind
> of
> > illogic - one might even say pointless.
> >
> >   
> It's called "faith" and faith trumps logic every time. ;) 


Faith seems to give people an easy out when it comes to explanation or
what-have-you.  One of the first questions I used to like to ask people
when they would call me over to fix their computer is "Why was it
working correctly before now, and what caused it to not work now?"  Nine
times out of ten, they will come back saying "It just did, and I don't
know."  Even though, probably 90% of the time, the user ought to know
what caused the PC to not work, because it was probably the last thing
that they did with it.

Asking logical questions to attempt to diagnose the PC, then, are
somewhat pointless.  They won't get answered.  Didn't you know...?
Computers are MAGIC!  <grin>

Seriously, though, people use belief to try to explain just about
anything that they don't have an explanation for.  I once encountered a
person who seriously thought that little gnomes or f?ries or something
were inside of the computer and that's how it was maintained.  What?!?!
>From what did that conclusion stem from?

Others will claim to have used logic to decide that their computer
should be rotated 90? on their desktop, so that they can use the "coffee
cup holder."  (Don't spew yours on your monitors and keyboards... those
little gnomes and/or f?ries would have to work overtime...)

And when an attempt is made to provide a clear-cut, logical, rational
explanation (albeit simplified as much as is humanly possible in some
cases), it is rejected in favor of the more creative and appealing
fiction... until I point out that if their fiction were true, I would've
been able to fix their computer by waving a magic wand and saying "Hocus
Pocus"... *shakes head*

    ? Mike

--
Michael B. Trausch
                    fd0man at gmail.com
Phone: (404) 592-5746
                          Jabber IM:
                    fd0man at gmail.com
              fd0man at livejournal.com
Demand Freedom!  Use open and free protocols, standards, and software!
"What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without
evidence." ?Christopher Hitchens
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