“People believe shit and don’t believe sense,” my supervising doctor said. The comment was in reference to patients who believe remedies without any evidence to support their efficacy will treat disease better than medicines which have robust research behind them proving they work. It wasn’t a comment saying patients shouldn’t believe or do whatever they want, it was a comment that each of us should challenge ourselves to investigate the facts behind claims. It was a nod to science – the scientific method designed to prove that observations are (or are not) significant.

Perhaps the statement wouldn’t have caught my attention in a different era, but with the state of current affairs it did. These days there are attacks on science. There are TV stations and online blogs calling themselves “news outlets” yet report nothing but opinion, and poorly informed opinion at that. There are threats against the true investigative journalist; stories based in research.

Current affairs. The thought that one can simply say whole groups of people don’t exist and think they’ll disappear…or assume they don’t have a right to be who they are. The assertation by certain politicians that experts know less about their industry than folks who never studied it or never worked in it. The propaganda that people who move from one country to another didn’t do so in good faith, didn’t have a dream for a better life, and weren’t needed in the country where they arrived. The dangerous opinion that one’s beliefs are the only beliefs; forgetting that we’ve proven time and time again that all humans are fallible and that diversity of thought and world view make our species stronger.

The ability to think critically and analyze the validity of people’s claims is a form of power. It’s powerful to set one’s emotions aside and examine the truth behind one’s feelings. With a critical approach we can gain knowledge, not just vibes. With knowledge we can grow and change. We can learn to better understand those different from us rather than expect everyone to be like us. We can embrace diversity. We can embrace transitions from one identity to another. We can include everyone. Knowledge helps us understand that prohibiting words like “diversity,” “transition,” and “inclusion” won’t make people who live those realities disappear and is a form of coercion and censorship. 

“People believe shit and don’t believe sense,” my supervising doctor said. I laughed at the comment because in the context it was funny. But it wasn’t funny when I thought about how many people have, do, and will suffer because powerful people are unwilling to believe sense. Unable to hear reason. Disinterested in knowledge. We can’t change other people, but we are responsible for ourselves. I challenge you to look for sense, not shit, when making your decisions in every facet of your life. If each of us challenged ourselves to do that, the world would be different from what it is today.