I think MR is like many people who maintain a shallow belief in things (like, say UFO's.) It's a pleasant belief that makes them feel good for a myriad of reasons. It doesn't hold up well under scrutiny, so their response is simply to not apply that level of scrutiny. There are a few billion people out there who believe in a very literal version of God who perform similar suspensions of disbelief.
I agree/share that perception. The problem is that he brings that shallow belief here and then reacts to the thoughtful scrutiny he receives with stupidtrolling.
Captain Kremmen said:
"Lying" again, may mean something you don't agree with.
Oy. Words have definitions -- this isn't a game. A lie is purposely saying something you know to be false. It most certainly is not just saying something someone else disagrees with.
You can't have a "ghost" section, and then say someone is "lying, "misrepresenting" or "trolling" when they say they have had a spectral encounter.
It depends on the specifics of what they say. For example:
"I think I saw a ghost." -- Opinion: can't be a lie.
"I saw a ghost." -- Unproven claim of fact, but not a lie.
"I have proven I saw a ghost." -- Claim of fact that is false, but not necessarily a lie if the person doesn't know what "proof" is. This is the "I'm too stupid to be a liar" defense.
"This photo proves I saw a ghost." -- If it is clearly photoshopped, then it is a lie. If it is just showing a wispy/smoky blob, then it's not conclusive; the "I'm too stupid to be a liar" defense again.
As Origin says, MR's beliefs most likely start off just coming from thoughtlessness. But in most threads, he is quickly shown the facts and errors and responds with false statements that are either too stupid to be honestly believed or clear lies.
I will say that due to the subject matter, it is actually possible that MR really believes
everything he says. But again, whichever the truth really is -- too stupid or actual liar/troll -- the negative impact his nonsense has on the forum is the same and IMO the punishment should be the same.
For many of the others such as Farsight and Forrest Noble, the "I'm too stupid to be a liar" defense doesn't fly even if it is true. They have waived it. Both of those are claiming to be published (or soon to be published) cutting edge theorists with decades of scientific experience. When they claim to be experts, they set the bar for our expectations of their knowledge level and take the "I'm too stupid to be a liar" defense off the table. So when Forrest Noble claims QM isn't a theory because theories are written in language and math isn't a language (as he's been on the past few days), he's not entitled to use that as a defense. He has earned a liar/troll infraction for it.