Can Conscientious People Become Woos? (A Bit About Me.)

[orphia nay]

Conscientious people don't become woos.

I disagree. (Although I may just disagree with your definition of "conscientious".)

Firstly, that statement is a logical fallacy, namely Affirmation of the Consequent. I agree that many woos can't spell, punctuate or use grammar correctly, but it is wrong to say it follows that everyone who does do those things correctly doesn't become woo.


Secondly, I have always been better than average at spelling, punctuation and grammar. For example, when I was in Grade 3, I could spell the entire Primary School spelling list. However, nearly nine years ago, I became woo for about six months. I was already quite stressed - working full time, studying part-time (and getting good results), smoking weed, and discovering the joys (or perils) of the internet by reading all sorts of pseudo-science (to do with time-travel, aliens, Atlanteans & the pyramids, Remote Viewing, psychic powers, etc.). It could be said that I made a conscientious effort to take pseudoscience on board. ;)

I eventually went somewhat psychotic - I was thinking weird thoughts about mind-reading, having some grandiose delusions, and starting to act inappropriately. My husband and mother took me to the hospital, and that was enough to convince me to start renouncing woo. I stayed in a psychiatric ward for 2 weeks, and that gave me time to challenge my weird thoughts and start understanding where I went wrong. So it could be said that I conscientiously made an effort to learn from my becoming woo. ;)


I might have strayed into equivocation of the word "conscientious", perhaps to pre-empt your definition of it, so I anticipate having to apologise. I do apologise in advance for taking too seriously a statement you might have made in partial jest, and for using your statement to further my attention-whoring campaign. ;) :)

[Garrette]

I'm with you. I was a big woo in my younger years and fairly conscientious. I am no longer a woo but have close relationships with more than few. Most are very conscientious. Some are extremely well-educated. Some possess analytical skills and writing abilities beyond my own. Some are the epitiome of conscientiousness, if by that you mean either scrupulous or meticulous.

[orphia nay]

Cheers, Garrette. It seems we are in the minority, but I don't mind at all if the company includes you.

You make a good point. The majority of woos/conspiracy nuts that I have been debating for over 7 years have degrees, and do a great deal of research. In addition, people I've debated here have been similar, such as Ray Ubinger and Christophera.

Possibly, I may consciously (and conscientiously? ;)) avoid the semi-illiterate woos, as they seem like easy targets. Or maybe it's because I find debating them leads to purely being insulted more quickly.

I like the words "scrupulous" or "meticulous" as you suggested. "Conscientious" implies doggedness more than those two words do, and woos doggedly pursue the paranormal at the expense of a coherent meta-theory of existence. They avoid glaring holes in their theories and they do not scrupulously analyse the implications and contradictions in them. I realised that when I had my semi-psychotic wake-up call.

I notice this was posted in the Grammar of the Weird thread, in response to Dr Adequate's comment:

I had missed this until today. Says a lot in very few words.:th:

I hope Freethinker reads this thread.

[Dr Adequate]

... woos doggedly pursue the paranormal ... They avoid glaring holes in their theories and they do not scrupulously analyse the implications and contradictions in them. Are you certain you're disagreeing with me?

"Conscientious" implies doggedness more than those two words do, and woos doggedly pursue the paranormal ... I think our major difference is on what "conscientious" actually means. If it includes being stubborn as a mule and unscrupulous as to fact and logic, then I will agree with you that many woos are "conscientious" by that definition; which is, however, almost the complete opposite of what I meant by the word.

[Freethinker]

It seems to me that if you were conscientious in your thought process, you would see the flaws in such ideas and wouldn't fall for them.

[orphia nay]

Thanks for the replies. I think that when I went woo, I was only selectively conscientious.

[Slimething]

Your experiment with woo seems more like an attempt to see if you were capable of it. Or maybe you just got tired of the same old same old and just wigged out for a while. Luckily, hospital food can dissuade anyone from doing anything that would expose them to said "nutriment". You are lucky you had a caring family.

Glad to have you back.

[orphia nay]

Thanks, Slimething. That was very perceptive, as well as being understanding and sympathetic.

One important thing I learned from the experience was to challenge my thoughts (one of the first things my psychologist advised me to do all those years ago). It helped me out of being woo, it led to my becoming a critical thinker, and it is still a good habit in that I do not become complacent.