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It's mind boggling. And I can't even begin to explain it. We live in an age when something pretty close to the sum total of human scientific knowledge is avail

It's mind boggling. And I can't even begin to explain it. We live in an age when something pretty close to the sum total of human scientific knowledge is available online, and mostly for free (especially if you count shadow libraries like Anna's Archive, LibGen, Sci-Hub, Zlib, etc). There's millions or billions of pages of high-quality scientific content, millions or billions of hours of lectures on everything from Geology to Abstract Algebra to High Energy Physics. Anybody can use Khan Academy to get a reasonably decent education on critical aspects of math and science. Sites like Stack Exchange, (some) sub-reddits, physicsforums.com, etc. make it possible for anybody to solicit feedback and corrections on almost any technical topic. In short, it's possible to be as educated as you want to be, and it's mostly free except for the time and effort involved. And instead a large portion of the population seem to be not only not pursuing real knowledge, but actively rejecting it and embracing obvious bullshit. WTH people? OK yes.. I know. Somebody is going to say it. The critical phrase above is time and effort involved. And maybe that's right. Maybe it's just laziness. But somehow that doesn't feel right. And I understand the notion that the widespread interconnectedness of the Internet allows small numbers of people with fringe beliefs to "find each other" and reinforce each other's nuttery, and that has some amplification effect on the prevalence of flat-earth thinking, etc. And yet, I still don't think that explains what's going on with people. And the frank truth is, I don't have an explanation. Or a solution. And I wish I did. I hope sombody does. Because as @taylodl says in another thread: These kinds of articles reinforce my idea that we're witnessing our society collapse before our very eyes. I concur, and this troubles me deeply.

mppm 2y ago
I can't explain it either, but maybe prophesies of impending collapse are a bit premature. The world has never been particularly rational, even in places that have near 100% literacy. Just look at the number of people who believe in astrology or homeopathy, not to mention that one guy who created the Earth and its inhabitants some 4000 years ago, in six days no less.
- mindcrime 2y ago
  Fair enough. But I'll just say that I feel like I've seen a pronounced change in my lifetime, and more pointedly in the last 5-10 years, that I find acutely disturbing, even compared against that "background rate". And maybe the answer really is as simple as "social media". Which I find to be a sad idea, as the potential of social media act as a force for good still exists and is something I've always been particularly appreciative of.
  - mppm 2y ago
    For myself, the last 5 years have been a qualitative change. I don't think the unreasonableness of the world has increased that much per se, but since COVID it has started to intrude into my life in ways that it didn't before. Social media, or abuse thereof, seems a likely culprit, but there's probably more to it. In any case, I mostly agree with you, despite my previous comment.
wcoenen 2y ago
> And yet, I still don't think that explains what's going on with people. And the frank truth is, I don't have an explanation. Humans are social creatures and feel the need to align with those around them. Combine this natural inclination with social media algorithms that show you more and more of whatever they have determined to be "engaging content", and you get a feedback loop that spreads viral content and drives people insane.
- mindcrime 2y ago
  I agree that that is at least part of the problem. I'm iffy on the issue of whether or not that is the entirety of the problem.
smrtinsert 2y ago
I think sadly there are some people that simply will not be able to understand the material. For them it is much easier to believe in fairy tales and giant egg beaters that cause hurricanes than it is to study science. They certainly are concerned about a reproducibility crisis in academia. If I've learned anything by occasionally listening to Joe Rogan is that people (men I guess?) demand to be heard - even if they have no idea what they're talking about. The fact that exist means they should have a say in matters they have no understanding off in the slightest.

mppm 2y ago

I can't explain it either, but maybe prophesies of impending collapse are a bit premature. The world has never been particularly rational, even in places that have near 100% literacy. Just look at the number of people who believe in astrology or homeopathy, not to mention that one guy who created the Earth and its inhabitants some 4000 years ago, in six days no less.

mindcrime 2y ago
Fair enough. But I'll just say that I feel like I've seen a pronounced change in my lifetime, and more pointedly in the last 5-10 years, that I find acutely disturbing, even compared against that "background rate". And maybe the answer really is as simple as "social media". Which I find to be a sad idea, as the potential of social media act as a force for good still exists and is something I've always been particularly appreciative of.
- mppm 2y ago
  For myself, the last 5 years have been a qualitative change. I don't think the unreasonableness of the world has increased that much per se, but since COVID it has started to intrude into my life in ways that it didn't before. Social media, or abuse thereof, seems a likely culprit, but there's probably more to it. In any case, I mostly agree with you, despite my previous comment.

wcoenen 2y ago

> And yet, I still don't think that explains what's going on with people. And the frank truth is, I don't have an explanation. Humans are social creatures and feel the need to align with those around them. Combine this natural inclination with social media algorithms that show you more and more of whatever they have determined to be "engaging content", and you get a feedback loop that spreads viral content and drives people insane.

mindcrime 2y ago
I agree that that is at least part of the problem. I'm iffy on the issue of whether or not that is the entirety of the problem.

smrtinsert 2y ago

I think sadly there are some people that simply will not be able to understand the material. For them it is much easier to believe in fairy tales and giant egg beaters that cause hurricanes than it is to study science. They certainly are concerned about a reproducibility crisis in academia. If I've learned anything by occasionally listening to Joe Rogan is that people (men I guess?) demand to be heard - even if they have no idea what they're talking about. The fact that exist means they should have a say in matters they have no understanding off in the slightest.