Quote:
Originally Posted by Solace
That said, plenty of people are dumb. They make actual stupid people seem smart because at least actual stupid people have a legit excuse. No, most people would rather ignore, deny, and even invent bullshit just to pretend that their reasoning of how life is, is just fine.
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Polarization has always existed, but the perpetuation of human stupidity contributes immensely to it. People like to think that we're heading toward a 1984 future. The reality is much closer to Brave New World.
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I'm not sure. I'm not convinced people have actually become dumber but rather
believe other people have. This perception leads to a lack of trust towards others and greater polarization in society.
I've seen economic and psychological experiments where groups of rational and altruistic people (preselected) who participate in games immediately resort to selfish behavior when the *mere suspicion* is introduced that someone doesn't understand the rules and might act against common interests. However when a punishment system for dissent is introduced cooperation tends to resume.
I suspect two media developments have reduced the sense of community and solidarity between people in recent decades. One is the media bubble where like-minded people isolate themselves from society and reaffirm and reinforce their perceptions. The second is content that tries to make the viewer feel better by showing people who are worse off (read: dregs of society) to boost the viewers self esteem.