A Problem

Imagine you are in charge of airport security at an international airport in Florida. An American Airlines counterclerk
calls to inform you that a person scheduled to get on Flight 1304 to Dallas has refused to board the plane,
claiming that she is psychic and she senses that there is a bomb on board. You meet with the psychic and recognize
her from the Larry King and Montel Williams shows. You vaguely remember her claiming to have used her
psychic ability to solve several important criminal investigations. Aside from being agitated about the bomb, she
seems normal. You order everyone off the plane and call in a crew to do a bomb search. No bomb is found but the
flight has to be cancelled because some crew members have exceeded their work hours by the time the search is
finished. Your action causes hundreds of people to miss their flights. The airline loses money because it has to
arrange other flights for the passengers, including one for the psychic. Did you do the right thing? In your defense
you claim, “In these times, we can't ignore anything.” Your boss disagrees. She tells you that to her knowledge no
psychic anywhere has ever discovered a bomb using psychic powers. She says that you should not have been
impressed that the psychic seemed normal or was famous and had appeared on entertainment programs. She tells
you that you should have had the psychic detained and questioned. Your boss considers firing you and sending
word to Dallas to have the psychic arrested for making threats against a flight. Who is the better critical thinker,
you or your boss? Why?