I think you are conflating System 1 and System 2 thinking (from Kahneman's _Thinking Fast and Slow_ [1]). Frauds typically work by triggering our System 1 ("liz

I think you are conflating System 1 and System 2 thinking (from Kahneman's _Thinking Fast and Slow_ [1]). Frauds typically work by triggering our System 1 ("lizard brain", containing our emotions and our innate mate selection/attraction) which selectively / temporarily disables our System 2 (cognitive / rational faculties). We have words to describe the abstractions in the mind ("ego", "defense mechanism") which form filters that prevent information from passing System 1 into System 2 unless our mind is open to accepting it. The entire point of these frauds is to trigger System 1 of the victim. This article[2] was eye-opening for me in helping me understand how the brain filters information before it can reach System 2. You probably notice it when you talk to people and they reject / deflect facts that disconfirm their priors. While I agree with you about the {QAnon, The Big Lie, Bolsonaro protesters} examples, I think people (including myself) severely overestimate _our own_ ability to withstand something untrue that tickles our confirmation bias. We all have these features, only some people have better control over their System 1 filters. I'm fascinated by these topics because (1) I work in cybersecurity and (2) I have family members that fell into QAnon + The Big Lie. Learning about _Street Epistemology_[3] has been really interesting to help me better understand not only many of these belief systems, but how discussing them in selective ways can avoid the filters/defenses of System 1. [1] https://suebehaviouraldesign.com/kahneman-fast-slow-thinking/ https://suebehaviouraldesign.com/kahneman-fast-slow-thinking... [2] https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/truth-status-and-tribes https://eriktorenberg.substack.com/p/truth-status-and-tribes [3] https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Street_Epistemology https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Street_Epistemology