Comment by d--b

Comment by d--b 6 months ago

I have a friend who really got into studying people who buy into conspiracy theories.

His conclusion mostly is that cleverness does not shield you from believing falsehoods. These are 2 distincts properties of the mind. In fact, it's quite the opposite. Smart people are very good at finding causes that justify what they believe in.

The point is that there is a ton of things that we know that are in fact based on beliefs. Like: did I ever see an atom with my own eyes? Nope. Did I see a clock slow down because it flew in a rocket really fast? Nope. Did I ever check that the moon landing looked legit? Nope.

One of my favorites is the controversy about Q-tips, there are tons of people who say it's bad for your ears, and then there's a guy who did a study that concluded that no study ever proved that Q-tips were bad for your ears. I know Q-tips are probably bad for my ears, but they feel so good, so whenever my wife brings up that I should stop using them, I always refer her to that one guy who tried to prove that Q-tips weren't that bad.

lesuorac 6 months ago

Perhaps it's just user error, but if you compact the wax in your ear by shoving stuff into it then you'll be in for a world of pain when the doctor uses a watergun to uncompact it.

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d--b 6 months ago

Don't know, I've been doing it for 20+ years. My ears seem fine.
I did have to unwax them a while back like 12 years ago, it's not unpleasant, you put a liquid in your ear, and it reacts with the wax and it starts to bubble in a tingly way. It feels all weird. And then you squirt some warm water to remove everything.

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atombender 6 months ago

I think it's fascinating that lack of information can generate both belief and disbelief in equal amounts.

For example, it took a while for germ theory to gain acceptance. People cannot see germs, so it's hard to believe in then. But people also fervently believe in ghosts and bad luck, neither of which can be seen.

Both are ultimately "caused" by a lack of information. When the lack itself is enticing because it creates mystery, it invites fantastic theories and superstition, but if it's not, it generates doubt and resistance.

Conspiracy theories resonate because you can always form a picture that explains the mystery in an enticing way in the same primitive way that weather must be created by the gods and ghosts are responsible for strange sounds in the attic.

This kind of dichotomy between credulity and incredulity is seen everywhere where humans need to deal with the absence of clear information. What I find fascinating is that while science has given us tons of powerful tools to reveal the unseen, we are still so powerfully drawn to the opposite side.

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hackeraccount 6 months ago

“The first principle is that you must not fool yourself—and you are the easiest person to fool”.

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