I think part of the reason so many people believe in crackpot ideas has to do with sociology and human history. The human brain is designed to work in small, hu

I think part of the reason so many people believe in crackpot ideas has to do with sociology and human history. The human brain is designed to work in small, hunter-gatherer bands, and in particular determine who and what to trust. With big modern societies, we have to determine the trustworthiness of claims concerning matters with which we have no direct experience or expertise, and made by people who are complete strangers. This takes much more advanced skills of critical thinking, and most people are not educated in them.