Once again I’ve been accused of not having an open mind.  Once again it was in a forum where I was pointing out that Alternative Medicine is not only a waste of time and money, but can be deadly.  The response was typical – I know better than you because it worked for me, doctors and drug companies want to keep you sick, and the ultimate and inevitable zinger – I have a closed mind.  Horrors!

She was right, but I didn’t consider it an insult.  I don’t have an open mind.  If someone makes a claim I expect them to prove it, and if they can’t, I’m not going to give it any credence.  Someone can make all the claims they want about magic water (holy or homeopathic), magic foot rubs, magic needle stabs or magic medicines, just don’t expect me to believe it without at least a couple of double blind studies that proves it’s effective.

Of course this only applies to things that can be proven.  I can’t prove that Andy Warhol was brilliant and Jackson Pollock’s childish scribbles are crap; I just think it’s obvious.  I can’t prove that Blade Runner was the best movie ever made, but I’m pretty sure it is.  Yet, if someone disagrees I’m not going to get upset or accuse them of having a closed mind.  Not just because it’s unprovable opinion, nor because it’s trivial, but also because I don’t consider it an insult, but rather, a compliment.

In my experience most people who brag about having an open mind allow everyone to pour crap into it.  I’d rather work on the opposite – having a mind like a steel trap.