glad to see people thinking metacognitively, and now meta-ideologically about these things. while the author concludes there isn't a lower dimensional model of

glad to see people thinking metacognitively, and now meta-ideologically about these things. while the author concludes there isn't a lower dimensional model of worldviews that is analogous to the big-5 personality traits yet, my pet theory is that there in fact one available that comprises at least some types of views, and it's made up of categories of rules. there is a set of what I can only think of calling synthetic ideologies, which someone produces as a way to entrain others. they're basically mystery cults, where someone finds a recipe for internally consistent complexity based on an explanation, presents it as a model, and then acts as a gatekeeper to the model. my favourite version is ancient astronaut theory because it's a perfect instructive model, but things like astrology, critical theory, antisemitism, the occult, strains of esoteric conspiracy theory, some deep ecology, and transhumanism, are all analogs of each other in that they are predicated on the same iterative loop. string theory begins to look like a fancy one after listening to anyone talk about it at length at all as well. does the system have predictive power about the physical world, or does it just generate evidence for itself and non-contradictions of it's unfalsifiable premises, and centralize the "guide" to its mysteries? some ideas are filters that are structured very much like comedy, but for credulity instead of laughter. (hate figures fit into this meta model as a pattern of idolatry as well.) you can generate these logics of ideas and mystery cults with literally anything, and they are interpretive patterns over some legitimate or real things. critical theory appeals to a sense of unfairness, conspiracy theories are often predictive, racism uses a sense of other, the stars imply a sense of place and order, but it's the entrainment step into the promise of transformation and enlightenment that draws people into a worldview. "here is a solipsism with a seeming paradox that produces uncertainty, nobody has satisfying explanations, could it be our brainworms? virtuous people are open to the possibility!" etc... Maybe we're turning a corner where we can reason about why we believe things and how to evaluate the quality of a given belief. praise Bob, I am hopeful.