Lack of critical thinking - What is the root of this?

submitted by PencilPusher55 from self.AskSaidIt

There have been quite a few people that I know who have been consumed by virtually every big movement recently. There is absolutely zero critical thinking going on. For a long while (And still now!) Qanon has been laughed at, and understandably why - but the same group pointing the finger and laughing are also a part of another mindless movement, just on another end of the spectrum.

One that's taken place recently that has seemingly been a unifying cause is the GME squeeze. This has now gone from getting back at Wall Street to a cult.

It's insane. $20 to $480ish in ONE MONTH. It was at $4 last March and they're still waiting for the squeeze. "Haha! Getting my AMC, BB, NOK, and GME at a discount!". Bragging about the loss of money - some college tuition for themselves or kids, others gambling away loans.

Mind you - Wallstreebets is NOT full of dummies. Seeing some of the gains / losses from people there would make your head spin. There are some seriously wealthy and intelligent people there. One guy made 1.7 million in Tesla calls, I think he started from $40,000.

But I am not speaking about them, hell - they're enraged with this invasion of the normies. I am speaking of the people that honestly cannot even QUESTION if bum rushing into the stock market after a 3000% rise in stock while gambling your college loan is wrong....

Is it a fear of questioning? The inability to do so? Low IQ? Lack of resilience against persuasion?

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[–]fschmidt 10 insightful - 1 fun10 insightful - 0 fun11 insightful - 1 fun -  (5 children)

It is low IQ. IQ is both a result of genetics and childhood development. On the genetic side, Europeans have been getting stupider since about 1800 but this is a gradual process. The biggest change has been in childhood development. Children playing outside is generally healthy but children growing up playing with electronics is terrible for the brain and produces the complete morons that young people are today.

[–][deleted] 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

When every interaction with the world brings pain, and blind obedience is rewarded, anyone can be turned into a zealot.

Intellect if formed by countless tendencies. What has brought us pleasure in the past, we will try again in the future.

IQ is an illusion, it can't protect us from brainwashing. Unless your natural tendencies make you extremely rebellious and clever.

[–]fschmidt 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I partly agree. IQ is the biggest problem but not the only problem. One also needs critical thinking and good judgement. So for example, math is good for increasing IQ but not so good for these other things. I think the ideal tool for childhood mental development is the game of Go which develops all of these things.

What would be your answer to the question in the original post?

[–][deleted] 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

What would be your answer to the question in the original post?

All the listed plus artificial common sense. Authoritarian factions hate critical thinking and use every tool to suppress it. The only thing they can agree upon (not a recognized agreement, just a shared natural tendency).

good judgement

In board games, as long as you have enough mental stability, everything is predictable and calculable, there are rules. In the real world, not so much.

[–]Tom_Bombadil 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

Europeans have been getting stupider since about 1800 but this is a gradual process.

Source?

There is absolutely zero critical thinking going on.

[–]fschmidt 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07M8NG2CN/

[–]HiddenFox 6 insightful - 1 fun6 insightful - 0 fun7 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

I'm going to go with then internet and more specifically social media as the main tools.

When I was young people believed whatever was on the 6 o'clock news or was written in a newspaper. Now all information for most younger people comes exclusively from online. And it's all the time, non stop, every time you pick up your phone. Combine that medium with decades of research into human psychology and you have the perfect storm for brain washing. Far more effective then in the past.

Also, I remember reading about the governments of ancient Rome. About how they understood the need to passify the "mob". Social media (an endless distraction), legalized drugs and a society based on consumption are all an effect to keep people relatively happy (even if that happiness is an illusion) and to not think too deep, to not rock the boat.

In summary I just feel we have structured our society to discourage critical thinking and social media and the internet are the perfect, next level tools to continue this process.

The root of this problem stems from the very basics of our culture. From the loss of morals, to the distruction of the nuclear family, to the complete lack of any form of shame. Its good times for everyone and dont think too deeply about it! The good times will never end! At least that's what my Facebook and Instagram are showing me...

[–]capnflummox 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

When I was young people believed whatever was on the 6 o'clock news or was written in a newspaper.

No we didn't. Well... maybe the morons.

[–]SilenceThem_Consume 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

The peasants did believe it, so except for you, it was common to get information from the news.

[–]capnflummox 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Don't generalize, moron.

[–][deleted]  (1 child)

[deleted]

    [–]fuckupaddams 1 insightful - 2 fun1 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

    please god shut up

    [–]madcow-5 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The dumb people always existed, but politics was reserved for nerds and opinionated people. Social media made it trendy because you can signal what a virtuous person you are with minimal effort.

    [–]RatherSmallPotato 4 insightful - 2 fun4 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

    Some of these "movements" end up being very persuasive and ticking off many boxes that play to our vulnerabilities. Search for "the one sentence persuasion course", a free pdf by blair warren. It's the formula every cult, mlm, sports team, advertisement, etc uses. Groups of people never think, only individuals think.

    [–]solder0 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    It seems like critical thinking isn't something that is taught, rather learned. I'm not joking when I say this; I've done this by accident many times before. A moment of clarity perhaps? It's hard to consider another point of view, but not impossible.

    One way I think you can learn critical thinking, and this is what I'm doing is by doing critical reading. Dan Kurland has a website dedicated to the subject of critical reading. Anyway, if you can do that, I guess it's all about what you read. Hopefully you get a kind of proto critical thinking ability from that, and develop it through out your life.

    [–]magnora7 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    High emotion = low thinking.

    If they keep people riled up (via news media and so on), they never really can stop and think about things in a deep way.

    [–]LOC-NAR 3 insightful - 2 fun3 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 2 fun -  (0 children)

    Persistent fear by my propaganda agents helps engage the amygdala which halts cognitive thought. This brings my victims into my mind-trap hypnotic charge. Souls in this state willingly give themselves to me in order to enter the great sea. While holding these souls LOC-NAR can feed.

    I am the LOC-NAR and shall consume all.

    [–]Poofter 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

    The less education someone has, the more likely they’re conservative. Explains Trump supporters, doesn’t it?

    [–]SilenceThem_Consume 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The less education someone has, the more likely they’re conservative

    *Authoritarian. And that goes both ways. Banning speech isn't democratic.

    [–]PencilPusher55[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Yes. It also explains all of the users praising AOC as the GME pump took place. So many Trump supporters adore her.

    [–]0rco 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    It’s the education-industrial complex. Compulsory schooling destroys curiosity and creativity. From kindergarten to college, school teaches us to memorize and regurgitate dots- not connect them. Take a look at 6 basic functions of school

    https://theinnovativeeducator.blogspot.com/2013/02/6-principals-of-secondary-education.html?m=1

    [–][deleted] 3 insightful - 1 fun3 insightful - 0 fun4 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    In North America, I would blame politics and religion. Seemingly EVERYTHING cultural seems to reinforce the need to BELIEVE and TAKE A SIDE, both of which are founded on the suspension of critical thinking. Then there is also school: don't discover or reason through anything, AUTHORITY will TELL YOU WHAT TO BELIEVE.

    Then there is the low-common-denominator peer pressure of mediocrity: do not excel too much or you will be ostracized, while being average is glorious. And as a final nail in the coffin of high IQ critical thinking is the "young people's way of life": self-destruction. Staying up very late playing video games, getting drunk often and not just a bit tipsy, and now of course adding WEED on top of this destructive lifestyle. The very "youth lifestyle" that young people think is "fun" is what makes people weak and old, wasting the strength and energy of youth.

    Do this for successive generations and you have a trend of lowering abilities.

    [–]bobbobbybob 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    how about terminal boredom, lack of hope and an general desire to see the world burn?

    What is the meaning of college education, when the world is a steaming pile of shit, and nothing you door say makes any difference?

    Far better to punch those you think are part of the system that is crushing the life out of you, or at least, be part of something that hurts them.

    -- just trying to understand the mindset. Categorising everyone who doesn't see the world the same was as you as 'stupid' is fairly low IQ in itself.

    [–]369 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

    Back in late 2017 and in 2018, QR was a fine place with many intellectuals, people working hard, generous and sophisticated networking, very coordinated social dispersion and an awful lot more.
    These days, it's been infested with normalfags, reporters, LARPing trannies and generally people who don't really have any idea what's going on.

    Do you remember what happened with Gamergate? Things went quite smoothly for a while. The same thing happened with Pizzagate.
    Both times (and quite a few more) we've gotten close to reaching normies and we did pretty well in 2016 when we got Trump elected POTUS.

    You want to know what happened with Q? The same thing that happened to Gamergate, Pizzagate and with Trump:
    Whether or not all aspects were true or righteous, there were some elements that, if uncovered, would destroy someone, somewhere out there financially, socially or physically. Maybe it was the government protecting itself. Maybe the oligarchs employed think tanks and hired more trust fund brainlets. Hell, it could be foreign INT assets (or worse, domestic ones...).

    Regardless, every time we try and organize something like this that gets a lot of people thinking, good or bad, it gets stifled. Q is no different. There's still a core /pol/ group that Q came to first, but now there's layers (which, admittedly were added in order to obscure us; or, at least, we reluctantly accepted their "help") which cast a lot of ambiguity on the movement.

    Ultimately, Q is just about thinking for yourself and getting normies to stop being so fucking lazy and stupid. Of course it got infested with "schizos", with retards just shitposting, children reeeeeeing about how they're not allowed to think certain thoughts that we're provoking in them, and a bit more.

    Q is focused on ushering in the Great Awakening (Volume 2). It doesn't have anything to do with Trump; he was a tool, an actor playing a role in a cinematic experience.

    Normies ruin everything.

    [–]PencilPusher55[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    The reason why most normies (That I've seen) behave in a way that destroys said narrative is simple. It's not a conscious, questionable movement that is allowed to be reasoned with. It is diluted down to a point where the lowest common denominator can find a catchphrase they like and roll with it. "Diamond hands!" "Just hodl! Apes strong together!". But none of them have any idea what they're even doing.

    At some point it just turns into - Who can I bully for disagreeing with me? This is seen throughout youtube where any creator that DARES say the squeeze is over with is leveled with a barrage of downvotes and called a "Melvin Capital Shill".

    [–]369 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The normie raid on the hedge funds is being furthered by people that are wanting to make more money... who aren't just normies and who seem vindictive.
    The stock market has always been rigged.

    If we wanted to really get normies more involved in the sheep leaving the confines of the farm, we'd show them all how to use DeFi and escape the banks. All of the tools are there and it's ripe for adoption. Governments are sprinting to their wits end at the moment to curb the appeal of DeFi, for instance.

    What your describing is the erosion of the identity. Too many of us have been depersoned or demoralized such that we seek desperately a place to fit in. We forgot the enlightenment and now it's competing with tribal and ancient precedents, hence identity politics being circled back around to.
    Mantras are an INT population control method and it's apart of the refinement of the population management umbrella which has been ongoing for sixty years or so. Repetition is potent.

    [–]capnflummox 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

    They call themselves retards and autists. They make jokes about eating crayons.

    What are you bitching about?

    [–]PencilPusher55[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

    I am not speaking about them. Try reading the post.

    [–]capnflummox 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    You are literally talking about them.

    [–]PencilPusher55[S] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    No. WSB was great. The movement is what destroyed it. The normies that infiltrated it and took over.

    [–][deleted] 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    When were you taught logic and critical thinking and logical fallacies? For me it was fucking college. We're jokes of men these days.

    [–]noice 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    We had some in high school, maybe I'm thinking of an AP class?

    [–]Akali 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    The GME squeeze isn't new. A few individual with a large wealth and public promoting a stock for the general public to buy. It's like tv show about the stock market. The general dumb fuck lost money on this and they somehow think they are fighting edgefund by buying stock which is nonesensical and find its root in their inability to understand the stock market.

    [–]desertbloom 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

    Critical thinking isn't really good for anyone who has no influence over others. Social harmony relies upon a lack of it or at least a suppression of it by the low-status people. So while it may save a person from cults it also can make them a target as someone who could create division in their groups. It's an advantage to people who are in a position of power, who have something to lose from being conned, who can influence the opinions of others and thus make their followers the smartest herd. The 99% who have no power or resources are better served choosing a herd and forgetting they are capable of independent opinions as sticking out just means being an outcast. Social animals are nothing without a group.

    [–]wendolynne 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

    Critical thinking is an essential skill to become a person in a position of power. Persons who appear to have power but do not have the skill of critical thinking are puppets to someone who does have the skill.