I’m more interested in the unquestioning belief that people seem to have with information provided by an authority, especially during the earliest exposure to a

I’m more interested in the unquestioning belief that people seem to have with information provided by an authority, especially during the earliest exposure to a subject. As the article states, the SPE is often introduced uncritically in introductory lectures. Uncritically to avoid muddying the waters (presumably) and in an introductory lecture because it is fascinating and likely to capture the imagination of a student (presumably). I’ve encountered unquestioning belief in various degrees of bullshit taught this way, from the tainted views of history taught in elementary school, through to stuff like this in undergraduate education. I think that students are particularly vulnerable to this at an early phase of exposure to a subject because they don’t have enough background to be critical, by the time they get that background this information is ingrained.