Just don’t call me late for dinner…

It’s okay to call me stupid and I want to explain why.

The short explanation? Let’s be real: I probably am being stupid about a great many things right this moment and I don’t realize it. If you can point that out, then you’re helping me. I consider that true friendship!

But first, let’s do a quick overview of the dreaded ad hominem attack (ie, to attack someone personally when we disagree with an idea they share, instead of arguing against their idea.)

There appear to be three basic flavors:

“You’re a stupid person for believing that!”
“You’re a bad person believing that!”
“You’re a crazy person for believing that!”

This is considered a logical fallacy because it relies on irrelevant personal traits to discredit a person’s idea, rather than using reasoning or evidence to discredit their idea.

Believe it or not, I think we should probably keep stupid on the table, and I’m willing to be the first volunteer.

Because, is it possible I’m being stupid in believing something?

One of the definitions of stupid is “unable to think clearly” about something. Does that ever happen to anyone else? It happens to me all the time!

In fact, I feel certain that, right this moment, I hold beliefs that are untrue, due to being unable to think clearly enough about them. Perhaps I don’t have accurate information about it. Maybe I rushed to judgment without having enough information.

Aka, I’m being stupid.

Is it okay to be stupid? Is it okay to be fallible and human?

I sure hope so, since that’s exactly what I am!

It’s quite a stretch for us to assume someone is evil or insane, just because they hold a belief that contradicts one of our beliefs, but what if they’re just not thinking clearly about it, because they’re misinformed or underinformed, and they don’t know it?

What if they just need a helping hand to sort it out?

There is an old saying, “When an honest man is mistaken, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest.”

How do we handle disagreements with others about information?

Do we listen to the information and contemplate it, or do we attack the messenger?

I’m not saying we should call people stupid. That’s an awful strategy for getting people to think more clearly! But if someone tells me I’m wrong about something, that’s my cue to listen closely to what they have to say.

Because what’s my other option?

Claim perfect omniscience and infallibility?

Man, talk about crazy… 😉