Passionate idiots

I ran into an old acquaintance recently at a gun show. This gentleman is someone I respect for his knowledge and willingness to help me learn things. We started talking about some internet discussions we’d seen about shooting and reloading ammo, and about the value of some of the “information” we’d seen posted in various forums. He pointed out that sometimes we are afflicted by “passionate idiots”.

I immediately loved the term. He was talking about those people who are honestly trying to be helpful but haven’t really done their homework to see if what they’d heard and believed was true. Sometimes they simply don’t understand what they’re actually seeing and attribute the wrong cause to the effect. They are honest and passionate about their beliefs but they are simply wrong.

I can give an example from my job. I am a technician who works on printing presses, etc. that run large rolls of paper/plastic/foil. Allow me a quick and dirty explanation of how these things work. The roll of material is placed on an “Unwind”, runs through the main machine and then is rolled back up by the “Rewind”. The Unwind and Rewind help control the tension on the material as it passes through the machine. While the main part of the machine sets the speed of the material the Unwind holds back a little while the Rewind pulls a little to make the material run straight.

In this case an operator called us out to a machine because the material was breaking. He claimed that the Rewind was “running away”, causing the material to break. At first glance that made some sense, until I thought about how the machine actually works. The Rewind is trying to pull a set amount of tension on the material as it leaves the main machine. It does this by automatically adjusting its speed relative to the main machine. When the material broke it caused the Rewind to start running faster to try to maintain the required tension. The Rewind couldn’t create any tension with nothing to pull against so it “ran away”. The actual cause of the problem was located on the main machine. It took us quite a while to convince the operator that the Rewind wasn’t the problem.

Obviously this “passionate idiot” problem applies to many aspects of our lives. Politics is a prime example. The next time you have a discussion with someone and you think they are wrong don’t attack their honesty or passion, just try to show them the correct information. It probably won’t be easy to change their mind but it’s a worthy effort. And always keep in mind, it may be you who is the “passionate idiot”.

sounds the same as my old 35mm camera used to work.
and yes I see your point.

I reckon often I am one of those passionate idiot ..
Opened my mouth faster than I can think.

I've found forums not to be a good source for information, but they are good for finding opinions. My father taught all us kids to argue (debate) and one thing about arguing is there can always be another side to the story, so (knowing that) it's easier to accept defeat when you're wrong. If you stick with certain forums that you're comfortable with, you get to know who is and who isn't the guy that knows reliably what he's talking about, you can still end up getting bad information. Opinions are fiction until you research both sides and you can find your own truth on a subject.

Politics is a whole nuther squash to me, it's like some people are born various colors and no matter how hard you try and make them another color they just don't change colors. A half black person is going to be a black person in the right circumstances, depends on who he wants to influence. Know who I mean? I've tried hard to change the minds of political left wingers and it only bolsters their resolve against me. I think we were born with or taught from an early age to be a certain way (politically aligned) and we just know better than the other guy (from experience). Problem is, they feel that way too and they would, just as soon, want you to change your mind. To me it's almost like we're different species.

Religion can be just as frustrating. You won't win an argument with a hard core bible thumper. Faith is so ingrained and so personal....I won't even go into it anymore.

Anyway in defense of passion and idiocy at least you can think about it as an opinion rather than fact and use it as a tool, like Chambered's line "ask enough people and you'll get the answer you want" (something like that).



Hi Chambered!!
Suz

I never have that problem because I'm always right. So there!! O K??

Hard core Bible thumper here, also very, very opinionated, but as with Bushy I am seldom incorrect, but that's because I rarely speak of items or situations that I do not have complete knowledge of, nor will I give advice, or recommend a restaurant.

Now since I do not believe that I have complete knowledge of anything I find that I listen much more than I talk, and that I am always learning. I am either learning something useful or learning that the talker is a passionate idiot. Who is the most passionate idiot I know - Obama of course, the poster child for the Passionate Idiot Society, not to mention Eugenics, and or abortion.

Suzanne wrote:

Anyway in defense of passion and idiocy at least you can think about it as an opinion rather than fact and use it as a tool, like Chambered's line "ask enough people and you'll get the answer you want" (something like that). Hi Chambered!! Suz

chambered221 wrote:

Ask as many people needed, sooner or later your question will be answered the way you want it answered !!!

I guess "Passionate Idiots" fits rather nicely !!!

Hi Suzzy

Jeeze, I think my wife would describe me as a "passionate idiot" ...

I started to make a long winded reply but realized I must be an "Idiot" since I have passionately been wrong a number of times in my life. Who wants to read the ramblings of an "Idiot" who may be wrong when those who know they are right abound?

You nailed it with that one Mac.

Amen Mac