You're Just Wrong

Why do I avoid Facebook like the plague these days? Because as soon as I log on, I see a former colleague of mine (a journalist) post this, liked by a lot of other former colleagues (also journalists):

It’s dumb shit like this that makes me fear for the future of my profession. What exactly are you saying there? That scientists can’t be wrong? If you actually asked a scientist about their job, they’d probably tell you that 95% of their job is being wrong. Also, much like “journalist”, “scientist” isn’t a protected job title. Anyone can be a scientist. In fact, much like being a journalist, being a scientist is a way of thinking more than anything else. Not to mention that there are very different sciences that work very differently from each other.

I don’t understand how these guys think. Are you only a scientist if you have a PhD? Are you only a scientist if you work at a university? And does this then mean you are automatically right about your job and me, a journalist (not a scientist), is automatically wrong? You can’t be possibly that naïve! These guys probably think somebody who’s not a journalist is not allowed to tell a journalist when the journalist is wrong about journalism, right? It’s hard for me to even imagine a more unscientific way of thinking than was exhibited by whoever made this meme.

Facebook indeed seems to actively destroy intelligence in people. There’s no other explanation I have at my disposal to understand this Homer Simpson-esque behaviour. “Ha ha… Look! Smart text on image!” CLICK! “I like!”