• evatronic@lemm.ee
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    1 year ago

    It’s an intentional thing, pushed by propagandists. Thinking in absolutes reduces the need for critical thinking skills as whole. When you can make people boil everything in the world down to a binary, its very easy to tell them how to think, and equally easy to define the “out” group you all hate.

    To wit, when masks “work or don’t work”, you can look at the people telling you to wear masks, and because masks “don’t work” they’re wrong, and if they’re wrong, then the people we aren’t telling you to wear a mask are right. You should always follow people who are right… right?

    • scarabic@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      There are definitely people who pushed this thinking and benefitted from it. But it takes root because it has essential appeal. The brain is an expensive organ and people go out of their way to eliminate complex thought, because it’s hard work. Humans instinctively look to other humans because that provides a shortcut: why spend those 200 calories figuring something out when your neighbor already has and you’d just be reinventing the wheel.

      I think something like 30% of the US have an IQ below 80. This is a very real issue with the public itself. It is preyed upon, but it isn’t totally imposed by a shadow conspiracy. It’s the way people are.

      • jandar_fett@lemmy.world
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        1 year ago

        Was following you until you brought up IQ. IQ tests were invented by racists to do racism. I.e., the tests were geared towards white people purposely to skew results when POC took them. Look up the history. It is equal parts horrible and fascinating.

        • scarabic@lemmy.world
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          1 year ago

          I just learned all about the IQ test from Veritassium, a source I trust.

          https://youtu.be/FkKPsLxgpuY

          There’s definitely more to it now than racism. I recommend watching the video. Not to deny what you are saying as history but if you are still entirely dismissing the IQ test because it’s racist, then you don’t know what’s in it.