Doggerel #194: "I've Seen More Than You!"

Welcome back to "Doggerel," where I ramble on about words and phrases that are misused, abused, or just plain meaningless.

The universe is a big place. There's enough fascinating stuff just on our ball of dirt and water to satisfy most people. Exploring the world around us can be an exciting and rewarding experience that raises a person's awareness. But not always. The collection of experience does not necessarily make one person an expert.

Scientists collect evidence in the form of experience, but they use the scientific method to interpret those experiences. They have to sort useful, repeatable experiences from what would otherwise be a collection of anecdotes. Woos, in contrast, tend to rely on their biases to understand their experiences. Without even being aware of it, they can marginalize and forget details that defy their expectations and exaggerate memories that confirm their prejudices. Not only can a biased person fool himself on the contents of his experience, he can also attribute events to false causes.

The ivory tower of anti-science does not become more attractive if it happens to be mobile. This particular entry was inspired by a recent troll named Gabriel who described the "laziness" he saw as he traveled the world. He attributed this to inferior genetics among the people he saw without even considering cultural and economic factors. He continued using these uncontrolled experiences when asked for actual genetic data, as if traveling had endowed him an innate authority in such matters.

In science, it doesn't matter how much of the world you experience, it's how rigorous you are in interpreting experiences. Quantity is no substitute for quality.