Philosopher and skeptic Nikil Mukerji explains what happens when idea pathogens infect the brains of otherwise rational thinkers, most notably when the German skeptics organization GWUP went woke
I perceive that a Trojan Horse event has occurred on the topic of sexual orientation. Calif. voted twice that marriage was only between a male and female. The attorney general would not defend that democratic vote in court. What followed was a strong current of media support via opinion writers that culminated in legalizing same ses marriages. Now here's the Trojan Horse: Then "letters" began to be added to "L & G" until we had, "LGBTQ+". I saw zero public discussion on this process largely due to fear of appearing "unwoke" to same-sex marriage. There is great debate about the meaning of "Q" and what in the world does "+" mean, if not "the gates are open"?
My father is one of the founders of a skeptic group ("R.E.A.S.O.N.": Rationalists, Empiricists, And Skeptics Of Nebraska). It's astonishing to see how readily he and "REASON" slipped into Wokeness. They really were and are quite defenseless against these ideas.
'' Being smart and educated makes one better at rationalizing beliefs one holds for non-smart reasons.'' is one of the best statements I have seen on this issue. I will quote it often. Thank you, Michael Shermer.
But this writer holds several ideas with which I disagree after looking at the arguments of both sides and examining my own motives. While I do agree with him on the ''woke'' issue, I consider SOME forms of alternative medicine to have value, while others do not. I would accept vaccination in cases of long-standing well-known diseases like yellow fever or tetnus, but never in the case of covid. I think AIDS is caused by prenatal ingestion of environmental toxins that damage the developing immune system, not by a virus. And I consider all forms of nuclear energy production to among the very worst attacks on the biosphere and anything that includes radioactivity should never be tolerated. That is not an ''ideology''; it is a conclusion reachyed after much study.
I do agree that most of the ''woke'' issues are a form of pathology, but I have long ago reached some conclusions about them. Those conclusions are subject to change if any new evidence comes up, but until then they will stand. One of them is that homosexuality, transexuality, and trisexuality are a result of prenatal brain damage to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls sexual response, caused by maternal ingestion of certain chemicals released into the air, food, and water by industrial processes, especially the manufacture of plastics.
But the particular details of what I think or what anyone else thinks are of lesser importance compared to the over-riding issue of social pressures being exerted to get anyone to conform. It is conformity, not the individual issue, that is the real problem that must be fought.
And I have noticed in my interactions with several people in Germany that the Germans seem much more into conformity on a wide range of issues than Americans or other Europeans. This really should be investigated. I suggest it as a topic for the German skeptics group.
Concerning your mistrust of the Covid vaccines, does not the RESULT of millions of injections that have saved so many lives provide scientific evidence to trust it? Should not initial MISTRUST subside if contrary evidence appears to support TRUST?
Missing word? “As regular readers of my books and essays dating back to the 1990s [know], I …”
I perceive that a Trojan Horse event has occurred on the topic of sexual orientation. Calif. voted twice that marriage was only between a male and female. The attorney general would not defend that democratic vote in court. What followed was a strong current of media support via opinion writers that culminated in legalizing same ses marriages. Now here's the Trojan Horse: Then "letters" began to be added to "L & G" until we had, "LGBTQ+". I saw zero public discussion on this process largely due to fear of appearing "unwoke" to same-sex marriage. There is great debate about the meaning of "Q" and what in the world does "+" mean, if not "the gates are open"?
My father is one of the founders of a skeptic group ("R.E.A.S.O.N.": Rationalists, Empiricists, And Skeptics Of Nebraska). It's astonishing to see how readily he and "REASON" slipped into Wokeness. They really were and are quite defenseless against these ideas.
'' Being smart and educated makes one better at rationalizing beliefs one holds for non-smart reasons.'' is one of the best statements I have seen on this issue. I will quote it often. Thank you, Michael Shermer.
But this writer holds several ideas with which I disagree after looking at the arguments of both sides and examining my own motives. While I do agree with him on the ''woke'' issue, I consider SOME forms of alternative medicine to have value, while others do not. I would accept vaccination in cases of long-standing well-known diseases like yellow fever or tetnus, but never in the case of covid. I think AIDS is caused by prenatal ingestion of environmental toxins that damage the developing immune system, not by a virus. And I consider all forms of nuclear energy production to among the very worst attacks on the biosphere and anything that includes radioactivity should never be tolerated. That is not an ''ideology''; it is a conclusion reachyed after much study.
I do agree that most of the ''woke'' issues are a form of pathology, but I have long ago reached some conclusions about them. Those conclusions are subject to change if any new evidence comes up, but until then they will stand. One of them is that homosexuality, transexuality, and trisexuality are a result of prenatal brain damage to the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls sexual response, caused by maternal ingestion of certain chemicals released into the air, food, and water by industrial processes, especially the manufacture of plastics.
But the particular details of what I think or what anyone else thinks are of lesser importance compared to the over-riding issue of social pressures being exerted to get anyone to conform. It is conformity, not the individual issue, that is the real problem that must be fought.
And I have noticed in my interactions with several people in Germany that the Germans seem much more into conformity on a wide range of issues than Americans or other Europeans. This really should be investigated. I suggest it as a topic for the German skeptics group.
Concerning your mistrust of the Covid vaccines, does not the RESULT of millions of injections that have saved so many lives provide scientific evidence to trust it? Should not initial MISTRUST subside if contrary evidence appears to support TRUST?
Great Story. BTW:the previous link isn’t working. Here’s the correct one: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/the-german-dilemma-continues-skepticism-in-the-face-of-ideological-conflict/
Also, here are two more pieces from the same author: https://skepticalinquirer.org/authors/johannes-c-zeller/
Interesting - but relies too heavily on disease analogy.
Analogy can be a useful tool, but too often ignores fundamental structural differences in the respective systems.
Dan Williams recently criticized the fashion of analyzing ideas as "mind viruses" pretty successfully IMO: https://www.conspicuouscognition.com/p/there-is-no-woke-mind-virus