4 ms·

And it's not just about not learning how to handle risk, but at this point it's gotten to the point of not believing that risk exists! That's the only way I ca

• munificent 6y ago
  > That's the only way I can explain the militant anti-mask brigades out there. 90% of seemingly crazy human behavior can be explained by group dynamics. Humans are a social animal. We evolved in tribes that worked cooperatively to survive. We hunted in groups to take down animals larger than ourselves. We protected each other at night from predators. And we fought other tribes for access to the best resources. Because of this evolutionary history, we are hardwired to prioritize belonging above almost all other concerns. We talk about food and shelter on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, but the top of that pyramid should really be "part of the group". Because for most of our evolutionary history, if you were alone, that meant you weren't going to find shelter or food. Exile was a death sentence. We don't need tribes to survive now, but the wiring is still there. We still wake up needing to belong to an in-group and worrying that there is some out-group out there in the night coming to take our possessions from us. The anti-mask thing is a tribal signal. For people surrounded by Republicans, being part of that in-group means publicly signalling alliegance to it. Trump wants to downplay COVID-19 because it makes him look bad. And because he's the leader of that tribe, it means being anti-mask shows you are part of that tribe. The way human brains work, being part of a tribe feels a lot safer than wearing a mask to protect yourself from a disease.