Monday, February 25, 2008

Complicated Things Ususally Don't Have Monocausal Explanations

There's a certain kind of internet dweller who you probably all have come across at some point in your virtual existences. They show up on blogs or comment threads and declare, confidently, that they know "the real reason" for something. Now these people can be annoying for the obvious reason that they tend to be a bit overconfident about the level of their genius. They often sport names like "Truth" or "Truth Teller" or something else suggesting unique access to the great universal knowledge that us mere rubes lack.

But aside from that there's always been something about these people that's bothered me which I could never quite figure out, and I finally got it this morning. The "truth" they share with us, the "real reason," is always a single cause. Other people who think the world might be a bit more complicated than that, and thus discuss other non-competing reasons, are idiots for failing to focus on The One True Reason.

Funny people.