Comment by wussboy
5 days ago
Hard disagree. People use rationality to support the beliefs they already have, not to change those beliefs. The internet allows everyone to find something that supports anything.
I do it. You do it. I think a fascinating litmus test is asking yourself this question: “When did I last change my mind about something significant?” For most people the answer is “never”. If we lived in the world you described, most people’s answers would be “relatively recently”.
That relies on two assumptions that I don't think are true at all:
1. Most people who follow these beliefs will pay attention to/care about the man behind the curtain.
2. Most people who follow these beliefs will change their mind when shown that the man behind the curtain is a charlatan.
If anything, history shows us the opposite. Even in the modern world, it's easy for people to see that other people's thought leaders are charlatans, very difficult to see that our own are.
Why wouldn't this phenomenon start with writing itself (supercharged with the printing press), heck, even with oral myths ?