Irrelevant Considerations: The “Science” Behind Them

Irrelevant Considerations. That's the topic today folks, so first of all: what the heck are they? Defined in the official dictionary of Princeton University, something that is irrelevant has "no bearing on or connection with the subject at issue", and a consideration is "information that should be kept in mind when making a decision". Therefore, we can assemble that an irrelevant consideration is something that has no connection with the issue at hand, but is still used as important information to out decision-making process. Now this can be anything from people who just 'know' that someone is lying, to techniques that claim to read a person like a book, based on the colour of their shirt. Today, we're going to look at some of the "science" behind these claims, and determine how accurate they really are based on our own common sense, irrelevant or otherwise.

The first claim I found interesting was the completely unbiased, not-looking-for-a-profit, purely-science-and-facts-based writers at Forbes, who "teach" people to tell if someone is lying, based on certain 'tricks' in their face-to-face behavior. One might think that you merely need to be perceptive to master this method, but at the speed that everyday conversations move, you'd have to be someone of superhuman reflexes to "look for slight signs of dilated pupils" during brief glimpses of suspicious retellings. And even if this were possible, the author herself admits that "Psychologists who study deception... are quick to warn that there is no foolproof method". Well there goes my faith! Any "proven method" of using unrealistic skills to do something not even the experts in the field believe in is total garbage (link, bullshit) to me. Don't trust me? See the studies of a one Bella DePaulo, professor of psychology at University of California, Santa Barbara (cited in the article). No matter how hard you concentrate on someone's ever-so"slightly elevated pitch", or observe the "length of speech pauses" down to the millisecond of your subject, you wont accomplish much more than a vague idea of their ulterior motive, depending on how the 'liar' is feeling. To quote the expert: "Lying is not a distinct psychological process with its own unique behavioral indicators. It does matter how liars feel and how they think."

Man Wearing Red

The other claim I thought I would focus on is the so called "colour science" (color for our American friends). And no, I don't mean chromatics, the actual scientific studies behind the material properties of colours, and how to qualify them; I'm talking about those out-to-lunch coo-coos slightly mentally unstable individuals that believe the colour of your shirt on a given day exposes your innermost secrets! Now to begin with, I'd like everyone reading this to stop and think for a minute. When looking at a ridiculous claim such as the one presented to us here, it is always best to first ask ourselves if any of the given information conflicts with our previous experience, and background knowledge. I don't know about you, but I have never, ever felt either a "strong sexual passion" or, alternatively, somehow been terribly intimidated by someone simply because they are wearing the colour red. I can assure you that most people would not be attracted to this (in a red cardigan, or otherwise). What about some of the other colours? White: extreme cleanliness, yet my brother's white shirts would tend to disagree. Blue: Trustworthy and warm personality, but Charles Ponzi loved it! Green: Worn by people of a compassionate and relaxing nature, also happens to be the colour that the antagonizing Green Men of the Vancouver Canucks happen to wear when they wish to rile up opponents. Must we go on?

Now let's look at some of the "science" behind these claims. First things first, the source. Neither of these claims are posted by a doctor with a Ph. D., in fact, one is merely a reporter for Forbes, on anything from privatizing native lands to good hiding spots. There is no research or studies to back these claims up, no experiments to prove beyond a shred of a doubt that they cannot be false... not even a girl with a video camera walking around analyzing clothing clouds and their effects on personality. Nothing! One would think that something as sure as colour-scicence would have lots of hard evidence to claim something outrageous, but it is all just speculations from an irrelevant source. Not only that, but our common sense tells us that our close friends do not change their mood (or perspective on life), based on their quirks, or clothing colours!

The point is, these claims have absolutely no science behind them whatsoever. They cannot be tested, have no experimental data behind them, come from uneducated and irrelevant sources, and cannot be proven through the scientific method. So always remember, while some coincidences may occur, with our current scientific data, and the lack of evidence and credibility behind these claims, there is no way you're ever going to read that one elusive captor's mood, based on the colour of their hoodie. If you still believe in this stuff, I really think you need to give this a read over.