Beside what you say, there is some common error. This is to imagine that education can help people be more rational. In fact education is there not only to give tools and informations, but also to structure the mind to accept those tools and information. This is well explaine by Thomas Kuhn as the notion of paradigm. http://www.uky.edu/~eushe2/Pajares/Kuhn.html
a paradigm is in a way a selective blindness designed to make you focus on "what works" in the paradigm, to avoid "losing time money and energy" looking beside. see how the skeptics battle not to prove LENR is wrong, but to save money by not searching for it... it is a specialization of intelligence. as all specialization it have it's domain of validity, and thus the domaine where it is an illusion, an error, a tragedy. this is why less educate people can, by accident, show more intelligent behavior not by their superior IQ or deep intelectual tooling, but because they have less tools, and simpler reasoning that allow them to focus on key arguments, and not be fooled by inverted clamps and missing gamma. among the skeptic I have seen a behavior which is the "black an white"... they prove something is not perfect, then conlude you can ignore it, and since nothing is perfect they can ignore all... if precision is not good, the the result is null... they don't know what is grey. it is a tactic, but also a paradigm as they think in a paradigm where thing have some given precision and they cannot think out of that... simpler people can adapt their precision and their conclusions, instead of dismiss all once the precision is below the standard. as I say, LENR will be accepted when a kid of 5 would be able to ridicule a PhD who deny reality. not before. 2014-11-22 23:07 GMT+01:00 John Berry <[email protected]>: > Most relivant quotes from the article: > > “People have been conditioned by 40 years of cultural programming to have > an aversion to cannabis (cold fusion/aether etc...).* It doesn’t really > matter what sort of evidence is presented*, most people simply react > emotionally to the claim rather than rationally evaluating the evidence for > it. People confuse the ideal of science with how science actually operates > in the real world, and then working from that assumption they *assume > this issue would have been conclusively proven and endorsed by the > establishment if it were true.* Unfortunately this is an overly > simplistic understanding of how the system works” said Dr Lucifero. > > “Even amongst educated people the issue is still controversial. Research > has shown over and over that a person's opinion on a scientific issue, > whether it be evolution or climate change or what have you, has more to do > with their political identification than it does with their level of > scientific literacy. This is equally true for those who have the highest > level of scientific literacy in our society as it is for those who have the > lowest” he explained. > > “When it all comes down to it, this isn’t a scientific issue, it’s a > political issue. “ > > Sound familiar? > > On Sun, Nov 23, 2014 at 10:48 AM, John Berry <[email protected]> > wrote: > >> I think the video I shared previously ( http://vimeo.com/22956103 ) >> shows why there should be a lot less close-mindedness around 'fringe' >> topics including aetheric and so-called LENR research as there is so much >> we don't know we can't know what all that unknown does to influence what we >> otherwise think is certain. >> >> Well if I was presenting something, I would also make mention of this: >> http://moosecleans.ca/content/scientists-prove-nobody-cares-cannabis-cures-cancer >> >> This proves that peoples beliefs follow along with their world view, with >> their identification with a certain group or system. >> >> By exposing people to the fact that we allow people to die of cancer all >> the time because the cure does not fit our collective notion of what a cure >> should be or who it should come from... >> >> It helps expose the truth and yet to a degree (temporarily) inoculate >> those listening from writing something off because the thing being >> presented comes with a shot of cognitive dissonance about who and where a >> breakthrough should come from. >> >> While the best way to change peoples minds is with undeniable buy one in >> a shop near you proof, until then it would help to become masters of >> persuasion, persuasion not to trick, but to stop people from tricking >> themseves. >> >> >> John >> >> >
