Ignorant versus Stupid

Almost twenty years ago, John Scalzi had a couple of observations that I found incredibly interesting:

1. People who don’t know what they’re talking about don’t like to have that fact pointed about, especially if you use the word “ignorant” in context to the fact.

2. People like to confuse “pointing out the fact you don’t know what you’re talking about” with “being hostile,” because it makes them feel better about themselves. It’s generally not worth arguing to them that it’s not necessarily hostile to point out when someone doesn’t know what they’re talking about, but inasmuch as many people who don’t know what they’re talking about are invested in appearing like they do know what they’re talking about, and in the process of trying to make it seem like they do know what they’re talking about will make more statements that show their lack of knowledge, thus necessitating further pointing out that they don’t know what they’re talking about, it’s certainly understandable that they would regard it as hostile. And of course, eventually one may indeed become hostile toward people determined to continue to not know what they are talking about.

Besides the fact that point number two has an unwieldy sentence, Scalzi says people don’t know the difference between ignorant and stupid. I wholeheartedly agree. Nearly everyone I know uses the terms interchangeably when, in fact, they do not mean the same thing.

Opinion is another aspect you can’t overlook. For years, I argued with my father that not everyone was entitled to their opinion; they were entitled to an informed opinion. Another way of looking at it is that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not everyone is entitled to their own facts. I didn’t use that argument with my father, but I think he would agree facts are facts and cannot be changed.

What changes are the interpretations of the facts.

For example, I believe there’s a force called gravity that keeps me firmly on the planet. I don’t think God’s hand keeps me clinging to the planet. I don’t believe the Flying Spaghetti Monster’s noodly appendage keeps me grounded. It’s gravity. It’s gravity because science has explained gravity to me. We observe, describe, and understand it. Gravity is a scientific fact.

I deal with stupid people by ignoring or avoiding them. I do the same with willfully ignorant people. These are people who choose to stay misinformed about a subject because that’s the way they “want it to be,” and they’ll present their incorrect “knowledge” to the masses. They have some sort of “reality distortion field” surrounding them. People offended by someone wearing a mask on a plane or in a grocery store are stupid. People who think evolution or a global pandemic doesn’t exist are willfully ignorant. Both of these groups deserve to be shunned.

Ignorant people don’t understand everything about a subject. Ignorance, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. Many people are ignorant about a great many things. It’s what school and teachers and books are for — to change ignorance into knowledge.

What I know about Division 1 College Football could fill an ice cream sample cup. I know a great many things about this sport. However, I have never coached football at any level, let alone D1. I acknowledge I am ignorant and would never walk into a room of D1 coaches and presume to know what I’m talking about or even to pass judgment on their decisions in-game and out. I could never do what they do. I don’t even presume to think I have an inkling that I could do what they do.

My problem with the ignorant and stupid is when they push an agenda of ignorance and stupidity where it doesn’t belong.

For example, the very concept, presumption, and promotion of Intelligent Design is like me walking into Coach Bielema’s office in the Henry Dale and Betty Smith Football Performance Center and saying, “I know better how this here football program should be run.” I may even have a tiny bit of knowledge about football or coaching, but for the most part, I’d be making it all up as I go. How do you think this would make fans feel? How about the coaches and donors?

I would imagine the Illinois coaching staff would punch me in the face and escort me out of the building, probably by the seat of my pants, interacting with a boot. They might try to be nice first. They might try to ignore me or even teach me the errors in my thinking, but ultimately, they’d get fed up and kick my ass.

That’s how I feel about proponents of Intelligent Design or anti-vaxxers or any number of conspiracy theory nuts. They need their asses kicked out of schools and school boards, out of science classrooms and teachers’ institutes. They need to be removed from public office. They need to be removed from positions of power and responsibility. I’m tired of being nice to the willfully ignorant.

Religion belongs in our science rooms about as much as I, in my hoodie and shorts, belong on the sidelines of a D1 Football program calling plays. That is to say, not at all.

The problem is when science-ignorant people (willfully or not) have a religious agenda, and they are trying to sell it as a viable alternative to science. Spiritual teachings are acceptable in the context of a Sunday school or church. You can certainly study the Bible or the world’s religions in a classroom setting. My problem is when you start trying to shoehorn religious beliefs and ideas into a science classroom.

Intelligent Design or, more accurately, creationism is the antithesis of science. Scientists theorize and experiment to learn about the world and the universe around them. A scientist can’t simply say, “I can no longer comprehend this concept. A miracle must have occurred.” With creationism, any questioning about the belief system is categorized as sinful. In science, you’re supposed to explore, test, and peer review.

Science is how we get vaccines to stop worldwide pandemics.

Science doesn’t care one iota about religious, philosophical thought, or personal choices. All three subscribe to the idea of truth. Still, only one uses empirical evidence, peer-reviewed testing, and experimentation to discover the nature of the universe. Others use an ancient book of dubious origin by unknown authors and Facebook memes.

When I go to a medical doctor, I want someone who has studied medical science, not someone who has studied philosophy or the nature of faith. Sure, knowing philosophy is great when faced with moral choices, but it won’t help me get a heart transplant or survive a deadly disease.

When someone needs help, the first thing you do isn’t get down on your knees and pray, but call 9-1-1. You, dear reader, are much more practical than you give yourself credit for, and the world is much better off because of it. Science is practical and real. That iPhone you are using to call 9-1-1 was also created by science.

America is lagging in science education because religious fundamentalists, anti-science morons, and the willfully ignorant push through their agenda of fear to tired and scared school boards and principals, to social media users unaccustomed to doing even a thimble’s worth of research, and to people who need someone or something to blame for their lot in life.

Ignorance can be fixed by the desire to learn.

Change ignorance to knowledge, don’t be stupid, and recognize willful ignorance when you see it. Or, you know, the Flying Spaghetti Monster will touch you with his noodly appendage.