4 ms·

I think this is closer to the truth. I'm struggling to find it, but an article I read and found enlightening explained how there was seemingly a uniform strugg

I think this is closer to the truth. I'm struggling to find it, but an article I read and found enlightening explained how there was seemingly a uniform struggle with education in every story the author was told by the people she talked to at a flat earther's convention. They all had some profoundly negative encounter with the education establishment, and usually as a result of a learning disability that they had. It's anecdotal and not a complete view, but a mistrust of academia seems requisite for many of these conspiracies to take root in a person's mind, and that seems pathologic to me.

tpoacher 5y ago
In which case, all the better a reason to engage in good faith discussion, so as to identify those academic failings that create such movements and help address them decisively and appropriately
- TameAntelope 5y ago
  The root cause is mental illness, academic trauma is a symptom.
  - tpoacher 5y ago
    When everything is a mental illness, then nothing is.
    - TameAntelope 5y ago
      Not everything is mental illness, but dyslexia, ADHD, and other disabilities cause learning problems. Many flat earthers are illiterate. I can't imagine they put a lot of trust into a system that would not think very highly of them, as a result.
      - tpoacher 5y ago
        This is highly speculative. And dyslexia and learning difficulties are not mental illness (at least not in the way you imply). I would have far less reason to believe such populations would be 'more' likely to engage in critical thinking (flawed or otherwise), compared to simply uncritically following mainstream thought. But, anyway. Doesn't matter either way.
        TameAntelope 5y ago
        I'm not implying anything, I'm directly stating that there's a correlation between mental disorders that cause learning difficulties and participation in conspiracy theories such as QAnon and flat earth. Yes it's speculative, but it's also predictive. If you can engage people who belong to these groups honestly, you will hear, over and over again, stories about how academic establishments have failed them in some traumatic way or another, leaving them mistrustful of what is, in effect, the entire concept of learning. And nearly every one of these stories you will be told originate at some form of mental disorder. These people aren't just stupid, they're actively anti-learning, which makes them so much worse than stupid; they want to make others stupid too.

tpoacher 5y ago

In which case, all the better a reason to engage in good faith discussion, so as to identify those academic failings that create such movements and help address them decisively and appropriately

TameAntelope 5y ago
The root cause is mental illness, academic trauma is a symptom.
- tpoacher 5y ago
  When everything is a mental illness, then nothing is.
  - TameAntelope 5y ago
    Not everything is mental illness, but dyslexia, ADHD, and other disabilities cause learning problems. Many flat earthers are illiterate. I can't imagine they put a lot of trust into a system that would not think very highly of them, as a result.
    - tpoacher 5y ago
      This is highly speculative. And dyslexia and learning difficulties are not mental illness (at least not in the way you imply). I would have far less reason to believe such populations would be 'more' likely to engage in critical thinking (flawed or otherwise), compared to simply uncritically following mainstream thought. But, anyway. Doesn't matter either way.
      - TameAntelope 5y ago
        I'm not implying anything, I'm directly stating that there's a correlation between mental disorders that cause learning difficulties and participation in conspiracy theories such as QAnon and flat earth. Yes it's speculative, but it's also predictive. If you can engage people who belong to these groups honestly, you will hear, over and over again, stories about how academic establishments have failed them in some traumatic way or another, leaving them mistrustful of what is, in effect, the entire concept of learning. And nearly every one of these stories you will be told originate at some form of mental disorder. These people aren't just stupid, they're actively anti-learning, which makes them so much worse than stupid; they want to make others stupid too.