One day, two men were talking together. They spot something far away, the first man said, “It’s a goat.”
The second one said, “It’s a crow.” They kept walking and discovered a feature of that creature: It’s black. The first may again said, “It’s a goat.”
They got closer, and now they saw it had wings. The second guy said, “See? It’s a crow!” but the first one remained defiant: “No, it’s a goat, and that’s the wind moving its hairs!”
They got even closer, and the second guy pointed to the bird, “Look at it moving and skipping like a bird! How can you not change your mind?”, but the first guy was adamant: “It’s a goat! And it’s skipping because of a possibly broken foot!”
Seconds later, the crow flew away as the two watched. The second guy smiled and turned to the first guy and asked, “Do you believe me now? Isn’t it obvious that was a crow?” The first guy turned to him, seething with anger, and yelled, “No! It’s a goat, even if it flies!”
“Anz wa lo tarat” (“it’s a goat, even if it flies”) is one of the most well-known Arabian proverbs. As the story shows, this saying is used when someone insists on something despite clear evidence to the contrary. At first glance, the story seems exaggerated: Who would look at a crow and insist — just “to be right” — that it’s a goat?
But for anyone who’s had any argument, the story is not only believable, might even be understated!
I’m sure you’ve had arguments with someone who scoffed at any statistics or studies you cited to support your view. Or the person who loves to yell and interrupt to “prove” he or she is right. Or that not-so-rare specimen who, when presented with solid evidence against their view, still manages to cast doubt on it — in fact, they might even find a way to show that the evidence is in their favor!
When novelist Michael Crichton was in college, he believed his literature professor had it in for him: He always gave him bad grades and criticized his writing. To prove bias, he submitted a writing assignment, except this time it was an essay written by George Orwell. He removed Orwell’s name and put his own. Surely, now the professor will change his opinion and marvel at this glorious piece of writing? Nope, the professor — thinking Crichton wrote it — gave the essay a B-! His opinion was “Crichton is bad, even if he’s Orwell-level good!”
You see this principle everywhere. You can see it among the large number of people who deny climate change despite unanimous scientific agreement — their motto seems to be: “There is no climate change, even if there is!” You can see it in how many people in the West view the hijab as a sign of oppression: “She is forced to wear it!”, and if the Muslim woman explains she wears it by her own choice and actually feels good about it, the response is that she’s indoctrinated and should still take it off — “You are oppressed, even if you aren’t!” You see this attitude with those who enjoy arguing to be right and completely ignore facts if they oppose their views.
