What’s the harm?
Like many, many others, I’m a big fan of the website F My Life (yes, the F stands for what you think it does, and no, it is not in general safe for work). In case you haven’t seen it: it’s a collection of short anecdotes describing humiliation, awkwardness, sadness, and other life unpleasantries. Sometimes, they’re hilarious, in a dark, “I’m glad that’s not me” sort of way. Sometimes, they help remind you that things in your life aren’t really so bad. Posts end with the letters “FML,” a kind of ritual exclamation, almost like an “Amen.”
Here’s one from today:
Today, my girlfriend of 3 years broke up with me because the love advice that she gets on her cellphone every week says that I’m cheating on her. I’ve never cheated on her and I was planning to propose next week. FML
A lot of the comments on that post express my basic sentiment to the poor guy: you’re better off without her, if she was dumb enough to believe those things. It doesn’t sound like it was generic love advice (like, “Communication is important!” kind of stuff) but instead that it claimed to be in some way tailored specifically to her. Maybe it was based on horoscopes, or it was from a psychic hotline type of service. Either way, the message is clear. What was seemingly an innocuous source of amusement for this woman drastically changed her life and the life of her boyfriend for the worse. He lost someone he loved, and she pushed away someone who genuinely loved her.
All too often, we see people using unproven, unscientific treatments or sources for life guidance and we think, “What’s the harm? If it makes them happy, isn’t that good enough?” As though consulting a psychic or getting acupuncture or taking homeopathic “medicine,” actions which are ineffective at achieving their stated goals, actually have no effect whatsoever. Of course that’s not true. Even sugar pills affect your health, even if it’s only by way of displacing the real medicine you should have been taking instead… to say nothing of the grave and direct consequences of many other “woo”-based practices.
Unconvinced? Take a look at What’s the Harm?, a website that catalogues the consequences of not exercising critical thinking skills. Sadly, but unsurprisingly, there are lots and lots of examples.
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