In urgent and time-critical situations, I can't afford to spend mental energy scrutinizing what an entity tells me. If a source is highly reliable (e.g. a doctor giving me advice when my leg has just been severed off), then I'll roll with what they tell me.
In important situations where I can afford to deliberate over what an entity tells me, I'll investigate their line of reasoning and corroborative for their stance. I like knowing why I do the things that I do, but sometimes I'll investigate after the fact. I don't want to be a pushy asshole toward an entity in the moment--from the entity's standpoint,
dammit, sometimes shit just has to get done.
We tend to calibrate and validate calculators, clocks, computer models, etc. before they're put to the field. They're also usually used for less important tasks--say, arithmetic or decision
support rather than outright critical thinking. So I can 'blindly trust' them more than I can human sources.
Long and short, I usually investigate out of
curiosity rather than
skepticism--though I can be motivated by both. Sometimes, I wind up believe that the entity's right; sometimes, I don't.
Ooh, let me answer the specific scenarios:
Scenario 1:
The use of a calculator or computing device to calculations. How blindly to you trust the answers spit out?
Essentially always, but as someone who develops computer models myself, I trust that I know when to be skeptical. Sometimes, I'll double-check my inputs.
Scenario 2:
Someone that you, yourself, believe to be more wise and worldly gives you advise about a situation where you believe (s)he has superior judgement. How blindly do you trust him/her?
I'll take their principles to heart and 'try them out' in the real world. If they work, then they become a part of me. If they don't, then I discard them.
Scenario 3:
An alien comes to Earth and explains how to create world transforming technologies (specifically in space travel and inter-species communication).
man what this alien up to :hmm:
Scenario 4:
Someone that you know is better at processing emotions gives you advice about how to handle an emotional situation.
I'd have to balance their perception with my own, but this is one of those situations where I'd have to determine whether I feel that their advice is 'true for me.'
Scenario 5:
Someone you know to be more knowledgeable about a particular field tells you some facts about the field.
I'd be inclined to believe them, and, out of curiosity, look 'em up on Wikipedia and explore the field later on.
Scenario 6:
Someone you believe to be significantly better informed about medical issues (perhaps a doctor or nurse) gives you medical advice.
My fiancee's a nurse, and I blindly trust her when it comes to me getting sick, feeling pain, etc. But I do ask her why certain treatments work because I'm curious.
Scenario 7:
Someone significantly more knowledgeable and experienced in business, finance, and money gives you financial advice.
In this particular domain, I like to simplify. Experts make shit way too complicated because it's easy for them and they get a kick out of their field. I'm not so curious about economics. When I'm given financial advice, it's usually met with a "Look, I'll consider it, but I'm probably just going to stick with my money market and real estate."
Scenario 8:
A health advisory board, that you have come to trust, puts out advice on diet.
I might try it if I'm concerned about my health; if it doesn't work, I'll not try it any more.
Scenario 9:
A science advisory board, that you have come to trust, puts out a booklet about what it believes is true about a subject.
Another situation where I have time to investigate their claims--moreso out of curiosity than skepticism.
Scenario 10:
Someone you believe to be more spiritually aware and wise in that sense gives you advice in matters of the spirituality.
Try it, see if it's true for me, etc.
Scenario 11:
A source of spiritual doctrine (perhaps a pastor or biblical scholar reading from the Bible, a rabi quoting the Torah or Talmud, or a guru quoting the Gitas or the Vedas, or a Mullah quoting the Quran), that you have come to trust, tells you what ought to be done for spiritual reasons.
Take a relevant slice from it and incorporate it into my daily life and set of principles, discard the rest.
Scenario 12:
An organization that makes food, that you trust to make good food, gives you food to eat.
Yeah, I tend to not worry about food so much
Scenario 13:
A mechanic you trust, and you believe knows more about cars than you, tells you what needs to be done with your car.
I tend to blindly trust my trusted mechanics, because I don't know crap about cars.
Scenario 14:
An organization you trust to make "ingredients" for your work gives you a product that it claims meets certain specifications.
Oh, I'd have to investigate that shit. Validate it to all hell. Subject it to testing and scrutinization of all sorts.