2 ms·

It's been fascinating and terrifying watching people (in general and on here) jump to answers that are nice but wrong (China did it on purpose, You can cure it

It's been fascinating and terrifying watching people (in general and on here) jump to answers that are nice but wrong (China did it on purpose, You can cure it with X, it's just the flu, etc) over the last few years. We will never know for certain what happened. It's honestly killed me support for democracy. 95% of people seem to be incapable of thinking about uncertainty and living with not knowing. They just jump headlong into whatever looks good. Facts and reason are just justifications for things their prejudices already decided.

upupandup 4y ago
There's a difference between being informed and feeling informed. The Western civilization have increasing distanced itself from the former because its "offensive and hurts others feelings" in favor of the latter. When emotion triumphs logic and reasoning, that society is nearing end of times. Such was the case for Roman empire, increasingly people's mentality started to shift away from reality and into idealized and complex web of absurdities leading up to its down fall, much of which were spouted by its upper echelon awash with luxury and comforts unaffordable by its masses We see such absurdities being pushed in schools (ex. Math is racist) and in society in general which then antagonizes and gaslights, attacks opposing nuanced views that throws its own narratives into question. While doing business with authoritarian states, we've ended up resembling in some form. It's a damn shame, once again reminded that open societies remain open only as long as its participants believe it to be so. If we close ourselves to one view then we are doomed to repeat the same attrocities that closed socities commit against individuals groups.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
I generally find that, while there are a worrying amount of people with insane takes on things, often reaching 30% in various polls when something becomes "political", that the majority generally gets it right. If only there was a bit more democracy, a lot of bad things could be avoided. Having said that, I looked up the polling on lab leaks and American democracy loses on this one: https://morningconsult.com/2021/06/09/coronavirus-lab-leak-wuhan-china-poll/ https://morningconsult.com/2021/06/09/coronavirus-lab-leak-w...
- anigbrowl 4y ago
  Read up on selectorate theory for a good argument as to why majorities often don't matter. It's a well developed elaboration of the truism that politicians prefer to pick their voters, and it is absolutely employed strategically.
- 9991 4y ago
  I know "nearly half" is not quite a majority, but it's still a plurality of Americans getting it right. Don't count out American democracy just yet.
  - ZeroGravitas 4y ago
    Sadly, it wasn't a binary choice: 48% "The Coronavirus spilled from a Virology lab in China" 28% Don't Know / No Opinion 26% "The Coronavirus moved naturally from animals to humans"

upupandup 4y ago

There's a difference between being informed and feeling informed. The Western civilization have increasing distanced itself from the former because its "offensive and hurts others feelings" in favor of the latter. When emotion triumphs logic and reasoning, that society is nearing end of times. Such was the case for Roman empire, increasingly people's mentality started to shift away from reality and into idealized and complex web of absurdities leading up to its down fall, much of which were spouted by its upper echelon awash with luxury and comforts unaffordable by its masses We see such absurdities being pushed in schools (ex. Math is racist) and in society in general which then antagonizes and gaslights, attacks opposing nuanced views that throws its own narratives into question. While doing business with authoritarian states, we've ended up resembling in some form. It's a damn shame, once again reminded that open societies remain open only as long as its participants believe it to be so. If we close ourselves to one view then we are doomed to repeat the same attrocities that closed socities commit against individuals groups.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

I generally find that, while there are a worrying amount of people with insane takes on things, often reaching 30% in various polls when something becomes "political", that the majority generally gets it right. If only there was a bit more democracy, a lot of bad things could be avoided. Having said that, I looked up the polling on lab leaks and American democracy loses on this one: https://morningconsult.com/2021/06/09/coronavirus-lab-leak-wuhan-china-poll/ https://morningconsult.com/2021/06/09/coronavirus-lab-leak-w...

anigbrowl 4y ago
Read up on selectorate theory for a good argument as to why majorities often don't matter. It's a well developed elaboration of the truism that politicians prefer to pick their voters, and it is absolutely employed strategically.
9991 4y ago
I know "nearly half" is not quite a majority, but it's still a plurality of Americans getting it right. Don't count out American democracy just yet.
- ZeroGravitas 4y ago
  Sadly, it wasn't a binary choice: 48% "The Coronavirus spilled from a Virology lab in China" 28% Don't Know / No Opinion 26% "The Coronavirus moved naturally from animals to humans"