"I love rumors! Facts can be so misleading, where rumors, true or false, are often revealing."
- Col. Hans Landa [
to Perrier LaPardite], Quentin Tarantino's
Inglorious Bastards
Many skeptics do everything they can to understand human nature and the world and to find the truth. They eliminate the improbable concepts through a series of steps associated with reasoning techniques and critical thinking skills, then cast those unlikely concepts aside unless convincing evidence suggests it to be even slightly probable. We weed out the bullshit claims that come to us in troves: ion bracelets can increase your stamina and strength, chiropractic therapy can cure your allergies, the Earth is only 10,000 years old, you can be healed through "therapeutic touch" therapy where no touching is involved, or that your future could be read by someone who studies the creases in your palms (for a flat fee of $55 per session).
We have made it a healthy habit to be skeptical of improbable claims and to report to others only what we have researched in the hopes of inciting another intriguing perspective on the issue at hand, maybe learn something, and get closer to the truth.
But I want you skeptics to break your pattern, if only for a day. Experience the discomfort just for a little while. I want you to spread a rumor. It could be about anything, anyone, anyplace. It could be a little white lie or a major fabrication. Test other people's ability to discern a rumor from the truth. Will they believe you because it's something that you're saying? Or will they throw a ton of questions at you, have a giant question mark pop up over their heads, and then take off for the nearest computer/library to research and see if your claim is true (or even falsifiable).
This isn't just a test to find if others are gullible. It's a valuable lesson in human nature. As social animals who attempt to make sense of the universe, when we are let in on a little secret, even if it's just a rumor, we feel a bonding with the rumor-starter and a little more at ease about the phenomenon being discussed.
Observe the people that you tell this rumor to and take note how they respond to your fib.
Finally, this isn't just a test on others. This is an experiment to understand how memes are started, how they evolve, and how they take on a life of their own. Watch this meme, the rumor, as it expands. Notice if it has changed at all since you created it and sent it out into the world. Observe the rumor as though it were an organism as it grows and adapts.