It doesn’t matter what I think
All of us like to believe that we’re good at certain things and that others are bad at certain things, but without evidence, how can we know if our judgments are correct? What’s stopping us from making any conclusions we want?
For example, if I believe I’m good at English, why haven’t I got anything to show for it? I can give all the excuses I want, but it doesn’t change the fact that I score poorly on every test I take. What’s to say that my belief isn’t merely the result of self-aggrandising hubris—an unwarranted confidence?
Another example: let’s say I think someone is a mean and abusive friend and that I’m glad I’m not like them. Let’s take the evidence into account: does this person have more friends than me? Does this person have closer relationships than me? Does this person get invited to more social events?? Because if the answer to all these questions is “yes”, then what’s to say that I’m not merely being spiteful and jealous of this person?
Because evidence clearly suggests that whatever they’re doing—as much as I may disapprove—is clearly more correct than mine. Therefore, I shouldn’t be glad that I’m not like them; instead, it may even be argued that I should be like them because they’re more successful in this regard.
The same goes for people who are ostensibly careless with their money; if they’re doing better than you financially, it doesn’t hurt to ask yourself: who’s actually correct?
You can shake your fist angrily at them; tell yourself they just got lucky; tell yourself that the world isn’t doing you justice; tell yourself that they’re bound to fail eventually, but at the end of the day, they have proof that they’re right—do you?
Closing
At the end of the day, we all have our own ways of looking at and understanding the world. Some people prefer a more deontological slant and like ruling on right or wrong according to predefined universal rules without regard for evidence, but others—such as myself—prefer to look at the evidence to determine if something is really right or wrong.
One may disparage a person for being cold to his unemployed, alcoholic older sibling, but if this person demonstrates success in every other field and has meaningful relationships with others, then it demonstrates something else: that this person is a merciless judge of character and isn’t afraid to stop carrying dead weight; no matter how much the nebulous notion of family may mean, it will not do to let blood ties cloud their better judgement. There is a time to be charitable or loyal, and there is a time to do what has to be done.
Of course, anecdotal evidence isn’t really evidence and a sample size of one hardly rules out a fluke. However, while it may be easy to deny the first few examples as luck of the draw, there will eventually come a time when evidence starts to mount to a point you can no longer ignore them, and by then, let’s hope it’s not too late to change our minds. After all, under the shadow of a mountain of evidence, any sane person can only insist that they’re right for so long.