Friday, July 18, 2008

Don't forget to skip work today!

Now if for some strange reason you haven't heard of some Brazilian schmuck's alleged prediction about an 8.1 earthquake later, read this first.

Crazy? You bet. How does staying at home help you? Nothing to lose? You lose your reputation (assuming you have one) as a sensible person. You admit that you're gullible and possibly stupid. Gullible for believing in the bogey man and stupid for wasting a day's pay (or leave credit).

Just the same skip work. I promise not to consider you stupid nor gullible. It'd be a whole lot easier dealing with the Friday traffic with all the idiots home. And please do not panic, the only thing I hate worse than a stupid person is a stupid mob jumping at every change of wind direction.

By the way, earthquake's can't be predicted! Oh, and even if it's ends up happening, who'd get to tell me "I told you so?" No one, I'd be dead by then and so would you.

UPDATE: Didn't happen. Like 'duh!

10 comments:

joyfulchicken said...

That's what happens when people readily accept outrageous claims without critical thinking. Funny you should criticize them for that. Kettle, meet pot :-P

But I guess I don't mind skipping work :-P

ALiNe said...

Did you skip work?

Anonymous said...

maybe i could use this earthquake thing the next time i skip class

philos said...

@JC: Clearly this is not a similar case--at least we're not stupid enough to put an expiration label on our belief.

@Aline: Nope. You did though right? :p

@prinsesamsang: Don't think it quite works that way, but let us know how it works out for you. :p

joyfulchicken said...

Actually, I would say that unfalsifiable beliefs are stupider than falsifiable ones ;-) At least the people who believed this hoax now know they were wrong. People who firmly believe in unfalsifiable predictions (e.g. vague catastrophic events at undetermined dates in the future) are nuttier, don't you think? :-P

philos said...

@JC: I don't know about being more stupid, but I agree that it is better to be proven wrong now than to forever believe in something that would eventually turn out wrong. That said, God can't be proven to not exist, but if we're right (and I'm saying we are) then time will prove that He is real.

Of course, it's entirely possible that I would end up wrong, but it won't really matter much then right?

joyfulchicken said...

Hmm, that sounds like Pascal's Wager. But the problem with that is, which of the limitless number of possible gods will prove to be real in the end? If it turns out that the Flying Spaghetti Monster is the one true god, you're screwed :-P

philos said...

@JC: Just as screwed as you I bet. :p

joyfulchicken said...

Um, no. I'm a Pastafarian, and I have faith in the Flying Spaghetti Monster :-P But if it turns out that god is something else, then we're both screwed.

Mozi Esme said...

Any excuse to skip work works for me!