5 ms·

I don't feel attacked :) Some of these folks have indeed been randos from the Internet. Some of them are people that I've known well in real life and I'm convin

I don't feel attacked :) Some of these folks have indeed been randos from the Internet. Some of them are people that I've known well in real life and I'm convinced they genuinely think this. I could be fooled - I wouldn't know - but on my list of possible explanations, a desperate need for more attention than they otherwise get is high on the list. I would suggest that it's possible this need is subconscious, and if they're believing nonsense because that need is so great, I'd consider that a mental illness.

qsort 6y ago
> I would suggest that it's possible this need is subconscious It's definitely possible. I'm saying I'd be more inclined to believe the "need" in question is a social need, rather than bad media/"fake news" influence.
- seppin 6y ago
  Bingo. A study I can't find after trying on Google took people with objectively wrong opinions and payed them for accuracy. Magically, people corrected their own opinions when they had a financial incentive to do so.
  - TallGuyShort 6y ago
    I'd be curious about the inverse though: does the rate at which a random sample of the population is willing to tell you something incorrect if you paid them change significantly?
    - seppin 6y ago
      Look at how the Soviet Union functioned. You got a government salary as long as you looked the other way and pretended that obvious lies were the truth. Works for a while, not forever.
  - webmaven 6y ago
    > Bingo. A study I can't find after trying on Google took people with objectively wrong opinions and payed them for accuracy. Magically, people corrected their own opinions when they had a financial incentive to do so. Interesting. I'd like to read that study, if you ever figure out which one it was. Meanwhile, I wonder if this was a case of people figuring out what the testers wanted to hear, rather than actually altering the beliefs they held.

qsort 6y ago

> I would suggest that it's possible this need is subconscious It's definitely possible. I'm saying I'd be more inclined to believe the "need" in question is a social need, rather than bad media/"fake news" influence.

seppin 6y ago
Bingo. A study I can't find after trying on Google took people with objectively wrong opinions and payed them for accuracy. Magically, people corrected their own opinions when they had a financial incentive to do so.
- TallGuyShort 6y ago
  I'd be curious about the inverse though: does the rate at which a random sample of the population is willing to tell you something incorrect if you paid them change significantly?
  - seppin 6y ago
    Look at how the Soviet Union functioned. You got a government salary as long as you looked the other way and pretended that obvious lies were the truth. Works for a while, not forever.
- webmaven 6y ago
  > Bingo. A study I can't find after trying on Google took people with objectively wrong opinions and payed them for accuracy. Magically, people corrected their own opinions when they had a financial incentive to do so. Interesting. I'd like to read that study, if you ever figure out which one it was. Meanwhile, I wonder if this was a case of people figuring out what the testers wanted to hear, rather than actually altering the beliefs they held.