According to Wikipedia, “Gullibility” is a failure of social intelligence in which a person is easily tricked or manipulated into an ill-advised course of action. It is closely related to credulity, which is the tendency to believe unlikely propositions that are unsupported by evidence.
Most of us would like to believe that we cannot be easily influenced by advertising or the media. We feel we are strong enough not to fall prey to marketing tactics, yet we are unaware that we have already been influenced. How many times have we, on impulse, picked up a small item by the checkout counter? Though it was not on our original list, we find ourselves unable to resist the temptation.
“Man, once surrendering his reason, has no remaining guard against absurdities the most monstrous, and like a ship without rudder, is the sport of every wind. With such persons, gullibility, which they call faith, takes the helm from the hand of reason, and the mind becomes a wreck.” – Thomas Jefferson
This morning I came across an article in The Sun – A woman accidentally washed her sink with hand sanitiser and the game-changing mistake has left her taps gleaming. My interest was piqued as I have a constant battle with hard water and limescale. Seeing a picture of a shiny tap, triggered a little voice in my head daring me, “Go on, try it!”.
If You Say “Gullible” slowly, it sounds like “Oranges”
Gullible as always, I marched into the kitchen, ready to tackle those limescale deposits. I was eager to see my reflection in the gleaming surface. I knew it was not going to be a piece of cake and I needed strong support. I picked my trusted allies Purell, DR. PALM, Carex and Cuticura, who have been with me since Covid-19 brought me to my knees. Today I asked them to do me proud once more as I believed they would not fail me.
It is the size of one’s will which determines success
A splash of Purell here, another of Carex there, I made sure most of the surface was covered. It was time for my little soldiers to fight my battle. Who would be the toughest? The article did not mention a time limit, but I knew it would take a while. I decided to make myself comfortable and waited for the anticipated gleam.
Five minutes passed. No change. Ten minutes. Still the same. Feelings of doubt began to crawl into my mind like a film of slime clinging to the pipes. Have I left the gel long enough to do its job? Did I use the wrong brand? That little voice hammered away, causing me to lose patience.
“If you want a thing done well, do it yourself.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
I decided to take matters into my own hands. Using a sponge, I wiped. It was not enough – the white deposit was still in plain view. I emptied four bottles of gel and using a steel wool pad, I scrubbed assiduously. At last I could see a slight shine coming through. Elbow grease was winning against tenacious limescale, but oh boy, what a workout!
What I learned
My sink was more matte than shiny. The steel wool left scratches which I had to polish using toothpaste. I broke a nail in the process but gained lovely scented dried hands. Do I feel tricked? I trusted and acted on impulse, burying my critical thinking. Being in a happy mood made me more receptive and less sceptical. I have learned a good lesson – not to take everything at face value. Not everything we hear from others is useful or even true. I will stick to my normal cleaning product, a well-tested family recipe.
Learning to Rediscover Yourself 