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How do you attempt to rationalise with the completely irrational?

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  • Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post
    I came across this during my news trawling.

    It is laughable but also quite terrifying that people can believe such absolute nonsense.

    From the BBC news website

    QAnon, coronavirus and the conspiracy cult

    A bizarre conspiracy theory has surged in popularity in the US since the pandemic, according to exclusive research seen by the BBC.

    QAnon and its believers say that Donald Trump is here to save the world from an evil cabal of paedophiles and it’s had a surprising level of interest around the world from Brazil to Germany, the UK and Indonesia.

    And this week Twitter announced it would delete 7,000 QAnon-related accounts, saying it hoped the action would help to prevent "offline harm".

    BBC Population Correspondent Stephanie Hegarty has spoken to QAnon followers and their families to find out why this cultish conspiracy has gained so much traction.


    https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-53...onspiracy-cult
    ---Algorithms...?...
    https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...spiracy-theory

    + human curiosity...

    Facebook algorithms were also partly responsible for the spread of hate in Burma against the Rohingya (...led to genocide.)

    The business model is based on "clickbait" content that arouses human curiosity and leads to clicking on it....


    We may be the most intelligent species on the planet....but, at times, we are also colossally stupid!!!

    Comment


    • Originally posted by siam View Post
      ---Algorithms...?...
      https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/...spiracy-theory

      + human curiosity...

      Facebook algorithms were also partly responsible for the spread of hate in Burma against the Rohingya (...led to genocide.)

      The business model is based on "clickbait" content that arouses human curiosity and leads to clicking on it....


      We may be the most intelligent species on the planet....but, at times, we are also colossally stupid!!!
      Oh I know about the maths behind it [even if I do not understand it!] The issue is why people remain so gullible, credulous, and prejudice. The horrors meted out towards the Rohingya were particularly vile and predicated on false information that preyed on existing prejudices and resentments.

      Yes one receives all sorts of interesting feed and emails to one's computer, tablet, phone but one does not follow up on it all.

      Apparently I have several relatives across the world who wish to send me their fortunes if I will only furnish them with my bank details! Likewise my emails purporting to be from Microsoft informing me that my computer is infected and I need to pay to get the viruses/trojans removed.

      You are right many humans are colossally stupid and that is frankly terrifying.

      We are about to enter the third decade of the twenty-first century. We have landed probes on Mars, we have sent men to the moon, we have telescopes that can "see" into distant space, we have conquered many diseases, we have this incredibly sophisticated communication medium of the internet; and yet when they are required to apply any rational thought processes to daily life, far too many individuals [many of whom are supposed to have been educated] have not progressed beyond the tenth century in their thinking and their superstitions.
      "It ain't necessarily so
      The things that you're liable
      To read in the Bible
      It ain't necessarily so
      ."

      Sportin' Life
      Porgy & Bess, DuBose Heyward, George & Ira Gershwin

      Comment


      • Originally posted by Hypatia_Alexandria View Post
        Oh I know about the maths behind it [even if I do not understand it!] The issue is why people remain so gullible, credulous, and prejudice. The horrors meted out towards the Rohingya were particularly vile and predicated on false information that preyed on existing prejudices and resentments.

        Yes one receives all sorts of interesting feed and emails to one's computer, tablet, phone but one does not follow up on it all.

        Apparently I have several relatives across the world who wish to send me their fortunes if I will only furnish them with my bank details! Likewise my emails purporting to be from Microsoft informing me that my computer is infected and I need to pay to get the viruses/trojans removed.

        You are right many humans are colossally stupid and that is frankly terrifying.

        We are about to enter the third decade of the twenty-first century. We have landed probes on Mars, we have sent men to the moon, we have telescopes that can "see" into distant space, we have conquered many diseases, we have this incredibly sophisticated communication medium of the internet; and yet when they are required to apply any rational thought processes to daily life, far too many individuals [many of whom are supposed to have been educated] have not progressed beyond the tenth century in their thinking and their superstitions.
        Are we educated to think?
        There are some who feel that much of our "education" is a waste of time.....?....
        We may be in the internet age---but are we equipping kids with strategies to navigate it? I know of schools in the Far East that do not even allow children to use the internet in class except in computer class!...how are they going to learn to sift through info if they are restricted in their "education"....?....

        In my opinion, the Islamophobia in Burma was reversible---but it led to genocide because authority figures such as the Buddhist monks and State both promoted it. Nelson Mandela felt that hate is learned/taught. But for it to be "taught" a person in authority such as a teacher, parent, leader (political/religious) ...etc has to teach it and/or normalize it. (thinking-by-proxy)
        Because of group-think, normalizing hate also gives it legitimacy---the "its ok because everyone does it" argument....

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