The Gullibility Factor test

[Regorium]

Flashpoint wins this thread. I feel so gullible for clicking on the link and wasting 15 minutes of my life on that ######ed quiz.

[NSFL]

I got learner, but I found this thing to be one gigantic piece of steaming propaganda. And aren't gas hydrates methane?

[NuclearFart]

Haha what a joke!

Besides the obvious conspiracy bullsh*t listed, I've actually met and chatted with Dr. Andrew Weil. He's a complete loony and reminded me of a Tom Cruise from Pender island.

Then again, part of me wondered if he's secretly quite smart, not actually believing what he says, but just cashing in BIG TIME on the masses of guillible people wanting modern day snake oil/penis enlargment pills. He's become extremely wealthy, with a cult following, by merely using the word "natural" and/or "anti-toxin" in every third sentence.

[J pold]

79

What a load though

Cures for Cancer? Hydrogen Crystals? Give me a break, Hippie

[Montana Moe]

76 Free thinker, top 5%, etc.

Some of the answers are just silly.

[Daradon]

Woohoo 85! Free Thinker!

[ken0042]

One that I had an issue with (that hasn't been mentioned):
When you deposit money in a savings account at a bank, that bank holds your money for you until you ask for it back.

Well, obviously I know the bank doesn't stick it into a safety deposit box, and a good portion of the money they take in on deposits gets used for lonas, etc. But they still hold my money for me, and give it back when I ask for it.

[Dion]

Originally Posted by ken0042

One that I had an issue with (that hasn't been mentioned):
When you deposit money in a savings account at a bank, that bank holds your money for you until you ask for it back.

Well, obviously I know the bank doesn't stick it into a safety deposit box, and a good portion of the money they take in on deposits gets used for lonas, etc. But they still hold my money for me, and give it back when I ask for it.

Yeah, that was one of many answers that clued me into the test being a farce. I put it up anyway to see how many would catch on, and with the answers i've read so far, PT Barnum would have a hard time finding a sucker on this forum

[SeeGeeWhy]

Originally Posted by Matata

Conspiracy nutters.

All the clean hydrogen we need to power the world is already contained in crystals at the bottom of the ocean called gas hydrates.

Lets not mention that this stuff can be extremely difficult and dangerous to harvest. There is practically zero infrastructure for using hydrogen as a primary fuel source, we don't know how harvesting this stuff en masse will effect the undersea eco-system and the tiny fact that a hydrogen powered car is basically a high pressure bomb on wheels.

Just because you can justify your answer and it makes you feel good about yourself, don't mean its right.

I agree with you up until that point..

It still would be a landmark achievement for mankind to devise a way to harvest undersea gas hydrates.

[MarchHare]

Originally Posted by ken0042

One that I had an issue with (that hasn't been mentioned):
When you deposit money in a savings account at a bank, that bank holds your money for you until you ask for it back.

Well, obviously I know the bank doesn't stick it into a safety deposit box, and a good portion of the money they take in on deposits gets used for lonas, etc. But they still hold my money for me, and give it back when I ask for it.

Actually, that's one of the few where his answer was entirely accurate and wasn't a loony conspiracy theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bank_run

A bank run (also known as a run on the bank) is a type of financial crisis. It is a panic which occurs when a large number of customers of a bank withdraw their deposits because they fear it is, or might become, insolvent. This action can destabilize the bank to the point where it becomes insolvent. Banks retain only a fraction of their deposits as cash (see fractional-reserve banking): the remainder is invested in securities and loans. No bank has enough reserves on hand to cope with more than the fraction of deposits being taken out at once. As a result, the bank faces bankruptcy, and will 'call in' the loans it has offered. This can cause the bank's debtors to face bankruptcy themselves, if the loan is invested in a plant or other items that cannot easily be sold.

Emphasis added.

[Thor]

Originally Posted by Regorium

Flashpoint wins this thread. I feel so gullible for clicking on the link and wasting 15 minutes of my life on that ######ed quiz.

That quiz took you 15 mins?

[jammies]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

I must object, I'm afraid that I do not find your test that much better a barometer for critical thinking skills (is this the opposite of gullibility?).
First, I still find question one a little vague. How do we define "phenomena"? Can abstractions be classified as phenomena?
Also, I'm not sure that I understand question #3: Are you asking whether or not one can effectively challenge a person's belief? Are you asking whether or not we can debate personal beliefs? Or, are you asking whether or not one can change a person's beliefs through argument? And what kinds of beliefs are these? Because obviously my belief in the electromagnetic force and my belief in God cannot be addressed in the same manner.

Actually the meta-test is to question the test itself. So if you don't like the questions, you give yourself a zero and congratulate yourself on a job well done!

[Hemi-Cuda]

Originally Posted by Dion

Yeah, that was one of many answers that clued me into the test being a farce. I put it up anyway to see how many would catch on, and with the answers i've read so far, PT Barnum would have a hard time finding a sucker on this forum

that read to me like "Oh well I really didn't believe any of it either, I was just TESTING you". weren't expecting such a negative response?

there's a definition of irony somewhere in there being that a gullibility test requires you to be gullible to believe any of the answers