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I have a sketch of a theory that rattles around in my head. I'm fairly sure I'll be pilloried, but what the heck. It starts with a nation founded on faith and

I have a sketch of a theory that rattles around in my head. I'm fairly sure I'll be pilloried, but what the heck. It starts with a nation founded on faith and religion, of a group of people who are willing to kill and enslave based purely on things they believe but can't prove. They'll try like hell to prove it, they'll search up and down for the slightest hint of something they feel to which they can connect other tiny little other unproven dots to. It doesn't matter if YOU don't think it's true, it's MY religion and I believe it and YOU can't fuck with MY faith. It continues on through a society full of advertisements that scream "the best!" "foolproof!" "most delicious!" night and day, from every corner...first from papers and billboards and then up through radio, tv and the internet. Even when demonstrably untrue and nonsensical, they're allowed to be propagated and repeated. It reaches a modern day where political classes can literally almost say or do or vote what or however they want without fear of any serious reprisal or of the citizens taking half a minute to remember that they said/did/voted the exact opposite 6 months or two years ago. This is true in the US specifically but also in varying proportions throughout the world, and moreso as our model is spread everywhere. So basically I wonder if first we have been misdirected and advertised at and lied to for so long that a sizeable portion of those among us have actually lost sight of what's true reality anymore. Some of my family members I previously thought of as sane and rational have become so unhinged and irrational that if they suddenly came to me and said "the earth is flat and there are no trees" I might flinch for a second but otherwise would not be all that surprised.

rndmize 10y ago
You're attaching the issue to the US (or maybe western society), when in fact this issue is inherent to humans as a whole. People are able to create mental connections between things. They are able to see patterns and extrapolate. This is one of the things that separates us from most other species and gives us tremendous capabilities, such as the ability to examine the past for mistakes and plan things out for the future. It also leads to storytelling and culture - ways to rapidly adapt at a societal level rather than a genetic or behavioral one. However, this capability doesn't have to be 100% accurate to work effectively - it only needs to be effective most of the time to provide a significant competitive advantage as far as survival. You can see this in any number of current or past societies, from small tribes to continental civilizations - beliefs and behaviors develop and become standardized/traditional, which are frequently a mix of useful/effective and pointless. A simple example would be prayer - consistently, human societies invent higher powers that they ascribe control of various aspects of the world to and construct rituals around them, and regardless of the lack of evidence, you can find this is pretty much all human societies. The details, of course, vary widely. In short, humans have never had a firm grasp on reality - we've already invented things and filled in the blanks with our own imagination, amped up our importance in the universe, because we're limited in scope as far as what we can interact with and control. Today things are both better and worse than in the past - we have cultural patterns like the scientific method, which ideally gives us more reliable information than most prior constructs; tools that expand our ability to examine the universe around us, giving us a better idea of where we are; consistently better information transfer (spoken word > written word > mass-produced written > analog mass media > digital). But at the same time, these things can be used to spread incorrect information just as much as correct; things can be cherry-picked, ignored, manipulated; logical fallacies abound; and, as ever, people will see the things they want to see to fit their patterns and beliefs, ignoring or deeming irrelevant the pieces that don't fit for them. We know more than ever as a species and society; but individually it is completely beyond anyone's grasp to gain a solid understanding of everything we know simply because there is so much. We're relegated to trusting each other - and unfortunately, people don't choose who they trust based on how accurate those people might be, but on things like social relations, world-view match, and so on.
germinalphrase 10y ago
I imagine we have simply developed a very refined understanding of how human understanding can be manipulated. These tools started as a means to control basic human functions (and the ability to live in large groups) and then were refined for political & economic benefit in the post-war period. We're probably 'enjoying' a new wave of this development with persistent media and I imagine if the promises of AR/VR come to pass that we will see even more severe divisions between individuals/communities/countries understandings of what's "real".
mirimir 10y ago
Propensity to believe implausible stuff has always been common. But arguably situations get increasingly chaotic with better communication. And now we can have global-scale filter bubbles.

rndmize 10y ago

You're attaching the issue to the US (or maybe western society), when in fact this issue is inherent to humans as a whole. People are able to create mental connections between things. They are able to see patterns and extrapolate. This is one of the things that separates us from most other species and gives us tremendous capabilities, such as the ability to examine the past for mistakes and plan things out for the future. It also leads to storytelling and culture - ways to rapidly adapt at a societal level rather than a genetic or behavioral one. However, this capability doesn't have to be 100% accurate to work effectively - it only needs to be effective most of the time to provide a significant competitive advantage as far as survival. You can see this in any number of current or past societies, from small tribes to continental civilizations - beliefs and behaviors develop and become standardized/traditional, which are frequently a mix of useful/effective and pointless. A simple example would be prayer - consistently, human societies invent higher powers that they ascribe control of various aspects of the world to and construct rituals around them, and regardless of the lack of evidence, you can find this is pretty much all human societies. The details, of course, vary widely. In short, humans have never had a firm grasp on reality - we've already invented things and filled in the blanks with our own imagination, amped up our importance in the universe, because we're limited in scope as far as what we can interact with and control. Today things are both better and worse than in the past - we have cultural patterns like the scientific method, which ideally gives us more reliable information than most prior constructs; tools that expand our ability to examine the universe around us, giving us a better idea of where we are; consistently better information transfer (spoken word > written word > mass-produced written > analog mass media > digital). But at the same time, these things can be used to spread incorrect information just as much as correct; things can be cherry-picked, ignored, manipulated; logical fallacies abound; and, as ever, people will see the things they want to see to fit their patterns and beliefs, ignoring or deeming irrelevant the pieces that don't fit for them. We know more than ever as a species and society; but individually it is completely beyond anyone's grasp to gain a solid understanding of everything we know simply because there is so much. We're relegated to trusting each other - and unfortunately, people don't choose who they trust based on how accurate those people might be, but on things like social relations, world-view match, and so on.

germinalphrase 10y ago

I imagine we have simply developed a very refined understanding of how human understanding can be manipulated. These tools started as a means to control basic human functions (and the ability to live in large groups) and then were refined for political & economic benefit in the post-war period. We're probably 'enjoying' a new wave of this development with persistent media and I imagine if the promises of AR/VR come to pass that we will see even more severe divisions between individuals/communities/countries understandings of what's "real".

mirimir 10y ago

Propensity to believe implausible stuff has always been common. But arguably situations get increasingly chaotic with better communication. And now we can have global-scale filter bubbles.