Gullibility is a human trait and we've all been gullible about something at some point in our lives. We may even still be gullible about something now without realizing it. As you look back at your own past, can you identify beliefs, ideas, or claims which you were gullible about and which you wouldn't so easily accept now? Did you used to accept astrology, reincarnation, or UFO abductions uncritically? Do you recognize any current gullibility in the things you believe? Share Your Stories
How come?
- Why is it that people with a certain level of education, say prep school, believe in biomagnetism?
- —Guest Federico
Gullibility about religious claim
- I, like Guest411314, have also been gullible about religious claims, particularly those of the Bible. The more I investigated, the more I realized how obviously illogical Christianity (and the Bible) were. I am now agnostic and somewhat apathetic about the existence of God.
- —Guest Leila
UFO's & Bigfoot
- I have seen lights in the sky that I could not identify. That's exactly what I consider them - lights I could not identify. Some people who claim to be abducted by aliens seem credible in the sense that they appear to believe that something happened to them. The same can be said of those who think they have seen a bigfoot. What is missing is proof. Until some proof if found, I will leave these claims in the "I don't know" file.
- —GrandmaVickie
gullibility or open-mindedness?
- A typical person might believe countless claims which they have never personally verified as true. I have believed all sorts of things as a child which I later came to think of as false - Santa, god, ghosts, etc. I also believed things which I still believe to be true despite my not having personally proven them true - for example, I believe in the existence of atoms/molecules and evolution. Although I used to consider it so, I would not now think of my childhood beliefs a result of "gullibility" so much as "open mindedness". I was well aware that I had little information about the world and adults had much more than I. I frequently ran into instances where an adult would say something that seemed impossible but later find it to be true, so when all such adults agreed that God existed, it was sensible to assume I'd eventually have more reason to believe them.
- —beckyam
We can all have gullible moments
- As a bleeding-heart liberal, I know that I cannot just take things on faith just because I want them to be true, even though I believe that the left is far more truthful than the right, I know that this isn't always true, and trusted sources can be mistaken as well. ( Present host excluded, of course. ) Discounting the willfully ignorant, most people just don't have the time or the wherewithal to factcheck everything they hear. I hope as our internet-connectivity develops further, we will have easier ways to call people on their statements. Even then, we'll still have a vast amount that would rather believe what the talking heads on their side tell them to believe. That's why so many still believe that Saddam was involved with 9/11, and Barack Obama is a Muslim. Pitiful.
- —trog69
Paranoia and Megalomania
- Paranoia and Megalomania foster gullibility. They seem to set people up for every protection racket. Religious notions of false fear and hope are just one example. Atheists are often a jump ahead, but they are not immune. They sually end up seeking the illusions of money, power, status, and virtue like almost everyone else.
- —portage1946
I Saw UFO & I"m Still Skeptical
- I saw a UFO in 1977 that was definitely an ET craft (I know, partly because it flew off into space with "instant" acceleration into "warp" speed). So, how can I argue that people are gullible by using the atheist's argument that "believing in UFOs are real" indicates gullibility, when I actually saw an ET craft?
- —quackn
My gulibility about religious claims
- I confess I've been extremely gullible about religious claims. I assumed the movie China Cry was a true story because the title said so. I once heard a story about a floating rock and didn't realize there were natural ways a rock could float. I struggled with the Lord, Liar, or Lunatic argument for a time. I've fallen for several supposedly fulfilled bible prophecies. The research it takes for me find out the facts often takes a while and in the mean time I become obsessed with the topic and able to focus on little else.
- —Guest 411314
