That was a powerful piece. I could not agree more with your analysis of how superstition, dogma, and plain ignorance persist despite the vast library of human knowledge we have built. You captured perfectly that strange paradox: while a small group of brilliant minds push humanity forward, the majority are still stuck in patterns of thought that would be familiar to people living centuries ago.
It really struck a chord with me because not long ago I walked past a shopping centre where clairvoyants and crystal ball mystics were charging people to read their destiny. It felt like a flashback to the Middle Ages, only now people carry iPhones, watch LED TVs, and stream on the latest computers, but have no real understanding of how any of it works. They might dress differently, but they remain, in essence, the same as their stone age ancestors, believing old wives tales over peer reviewed science, religion over evidence.
My question is this: how do we break this cycle? Are we destined as a species to carry these superstitions and dogmas forever, no matter how much knowledge accumulates, or is there a tipping point where genuine understanding finally wins out?
Thanks for the feedback. Glad you appreciated it. Clearly, education is key but, unfortunately, not sufficient. Homo economicus has long been abandoned as a proper description of our evolved cognition and nature. Supernatural thinking just scratches too big of a cognitive and emotional itch and will likely always appeal to our biases. And there will always be opportunists keen and able to appeal to and exploit that itch for their social and monetary gain.
That was a powerful piece. I could not agree more with your analysis of how superstition, dogma, and plain ignorance persist despite the vast library of human knowledge we have built. You captured perfectly that strange paradox: while a small group of brilliant minds push humanity forward, the majority are still stuck in patterns of thought that would be familiar to people living centuries ago.
It really struck a chord with me because not long ago I walked past a shopping centre where clairvoyants and crystal ball mystics were charging people to read their destiny. It felt like a flashback to the Middle Ages, only now people carry iPhones, watch LED TVs, and stream on the latest computers, but have no real understanding of how any of it works. They might dress differently, but they remain, in essence, the same as their stone age ancestors, believing old wives tales over peer reviewed science, religion over evidence.
My question is this: how do we break this cycle? Are we destined as a species to carry these superstitions and dogmas forever, no matter how much knowledge accumulates, or is there a tipping point where genuine understanding finally wins out?
Thanks for the feedback. Glad you appreciated it. Clearly, education is key but, unfortunately, not sufficient. Homo economicus has long been abandoned as a proper description of our evolved cognition and nature. Supernatural thinking just scratches too big of a cognitive and emotional itch and will likely always appeal to our biases. And there will always be opportunists keen and able to appeal to and exploit that itch for their social and monetary gain.