Is it just me, or do some people have trouble considering hypothetical scenarios?

Question

It seems like whenever people ask a question that proposes a hypothetical scenario, others get all dignant and say things like "I KNOW that's not the case. No point in considering it!" I've seen some other variations, but the general tone is usually the same.

I'm talking about questions such as:

What if you found out that God definitely does (or does not) exist? What would you do or think?

I would list more, but I think the point is clear. I'm talking about questions that ask people to consider hypothetical situations.

I may be a little biased, because I enjoy considering and thinking about such things.

Answer 1

I, personally, LOVE to talk about things in hypothetical scenarios. My husband and I actually do that quite often just to see what one or the other would do or say.

I think for a lot of people, they tend to be the type "do or do not, there is no try" so when speaking to people that beleive that type of thing, they don't tend to see the point in thinking about hypothetical situations.
To me, the ones that don't want to or don't see the point in hypothetical situations/scenarios, are just people with NO imagination what so ever!!

Hypothetically speaking, if I found out that god did exist, I would try and find him/her and ask why the hell everyone says they do as the bible says, yet they are hypocrites and do exactly the opposite that the bible says, like discriminate against gay people, judge other people based on the way they look etc... etc... etc...

Answer 2

God is already a hypothetical.

If God made himself known to all people, there would nothing more to discuss - we would just have to throw out all of the knowledge accumulated throughout human history and accept the fact that we can never understand anything -

But then .... how would we know that God had really made himself known?

OK, so maybe you are right. I say that if we found out God definitely does exist - then we are all insane and and, so, we still would not know whether he really exists or not.

Man, it's going to take a lot of scotch to get rid of this headache. See what you have done?

Answer 3

What would you do if you couldn't think about hypothetical situations?

Haha, brainteaser!

I think that people might not like answering them because it challenges their point of view, and the way that they see the future as being, for the most part, set in stone. For some people, change is scary, and something they don't want to think about.

I think if God did/didn't exist, religious book sales would either skyrocket or go down to 0. Religious shows on TV could be cancelled, etc. Churches would either gain tons of members, or be shut down, people could gain great respect for the Pope, or there might be no pope at all, and a million other things like that.

Answer 4

Because most "Hypothetical" questions are not "Hypothetical" at all. Most people call them that as to not to admit to the reality of the question.

Since most of them are like this, most people assume there is NOTHING hypothetical about it.

As if, "HOW DARE you think about such things"

Have you ever been in this situation?

You: "I have a hypothetical question.. What if....."

(Something shocking, like eating babies or something)

Listener :"WHAT! I can't believe you would support that!!!"

This is the fault of the listener, not the asker.

Answer 5

Well in all honesty, the majority of hypothetical questions follow the path of stupidity. I believe that most members here enjoy giving their opinions on good realistic questions, but you have to admit, some questions asked here would be better off asked of a psychiatrist.

Answer 6

I think it's a waste to consider some hypothetical situations. Others are healthy to talk about, but some are just pointless.

Answer 7

I guess your hypotheses may possibly cause a sort of earthquake in the others' beliefs.

All the hypothetical scenarios are possible, the only thing impossible is to avoid death.

Answer 8

Probably because some people don't like to be "pushed into a corner" where they have to give an answer for something they don't want to accept.
Also, (remember when you were a kid) when someone did this to you, the questioner would gloat and celebrate for getting you to say something they wanted you to say?

Answer 9

I feel that the consideration towards anybodys willingness in answering any of your questions, or any hypothetical question, besides for the cause to gain points, denies the validity of your very opinion of this troubles of consideration you did mention.

Hypothesis is an educated guess, but some may be more in the know, or just simply more persuasive, than you may be wanting to find them necessarily to be in.

In order for someone to answer the way you dictate your question to be answered, or to see the question you choose, to be, the higher probability, by reading your question here now, and it having seemingly being with the sign of angst in expression of this post of your question above, is, that the expectation of the response to the questions you speak of, post, and choose to answer, in any posts regarding any such a hypothetical type of topic, comes the possible fact that it was not answered by others as you may have intended them to be, by the post itself, which is clearly now due to the fact that the post calling for said hypothesis did not jibe with the motive and intent to evoke the response you desired, therefore giving way to such anxieties you have here regarding such.

You can neither change intelligent opinion, nor ignorance in opinion sometimes, with or without fact. > (Unless you are me of course) <<
And so one must be able to absorb both ignorance and intelligence in such a hypothetical question.

Two biased opinions are like referring to apples and oranges as being the same, or, two apples being an orange and banana.

I now beg to try and persuade you away from this angst I feel from your post, with my questions to you:

Is it really the enjoyment of considering and thinking of such involvement of the hypothetical posts you submit yourself to, as you have described it as being your intentions of enjoying said posts, above?

Or is it your lack of enjoyment that compels you to enjoin in such posts, which stems from your unhappiness through your inability to persuade through your own posts, and also towards the non-compliance of answers given towards the gist of the messages conveyed within the posts you pick to answer because you agree with the wished response for in it?

Either your understanding of the word hypothetical is incorrect, or my opinion of the reasoning behind the incorrectness of your opinion, being your first line in posted question, is correct, which is likely, and also now again here, reinforced in MY first sentence of answer here to you.

If you read this post carefully enough, your anxiety will turn into understanding.

This is my hypothesis, unless you find it to be factual in my opinion of you.

Answer 10

htey are prejudiced and cannot even consider the hypothesis...anyway to be fair it is very difficult to assume an hypothesis that goes against your inner believes...But i agree that people tend to read a bit too literally...If you ask something in an ironical way they take it literally...maybe when reading it is not so easy to catch the irnoy.