Monday, March 10, 2008

How gullible is that?

Sometimes I can't believe how gullible people can be.

For example, there's this guy I know who repeatedly forwards every interesting story that he gets via e-mail. Time and time again, I've pointed out the inconsistencies and implausibilities in these stories as documented on Snopes.com. His reply? "Well, how do I know that Snopes.com is accurate? Anybody can come up with a website."

See the inconsistency there? He says that anybody can write something on a website, and so he dismisses Snopes in that regard. Yet he's perfectly willing to believe whatever he receives via e-mail, even though it's much easier for some malicious or uninformed hack to shoot of an e-mail hoax or other piece of misinformation.

BTW, I've given up on trying to convince people that the daddy longlegs is NOT the most poisonous spider in the world, or that its fangs are incapable of puncturing human skin.