Why do smart people follow so many dumb ideologies?

[Jamstar]

Seriously, what is with so many articulate, intelligent, well-read people following so many moronic ideologies proven to have failed or be false in the past? I'm talking about your Communists, Fascists, Flat-Earth theorists, eugenicists, conspiracy theorists (David Icke - seriously, what. the. fuck.) and all that fringe jazz. Or maybe they aren't very smart and just have a good vocabulary which tricked me? Who knows.

Point is, I see way too many people who appear to be intelligent who are tangled in ridiculous, unpractical ideologies and faiths - Christianity being a big one. Is it personality? Is it their upbringing? Or are people just attracted to dumb shit?

[Jamstar]

I fucked up the title. It should read "Why do smart people follow so many dumb ideologies."

[nygreenguy]

I would almost consider myself a communist. I see nothing wrong with it, as of yet. I have yet to hear a good argument against it, thats why I stand by it.

As a former christian, I simply didnt know how to rationalize. But then I guess that would exclude me as "smart" as the op suggests.

[Arctish]

Intelligence and emotional fortitude don't go hand in hand. Being intelligent enough to see the flaws and failures of a belief system doesn't automatically translate into being able to leave it behind. When you add in the social pressures to conform and the comfort these beliefs can bring it is not surprising that many intelligent people remain faithful to faulty ideologies.

[RexT]

Think again about the complexity of the world. Think about its uncertainty. And think about all the people who ever said such and such is dumb - it's impossible! And later some really smart or at least very determined people found a way to make it possible.

In the course of understanding, one could be persuaded (with a very open mind) that really, nothing is impossible. Think about the very existence of the world. Is it possible for a universe, life, mind to exist? How is it possible to arrive in a world like this one? The odds seem impossible considering how many other worlds could have occurred, and no world at all would be far simpler. Yet, here it is as natural as you please. So yes, the most extraordinary things imaginable have already occurred and continue to occur.

So which is smarter; to think that such and such is impossible or to think that it is possible? Well, it's the latter of course, but still, it may not be possible today. So smart people are always thinking positively, how something is possible, not how it is impossible. And yes, that kind of mindset often leads one to a dead end. But just because it leads to a dead end today doesn't mean it will tomorrow or the next day or someday.

I can even imagine that someday, in some world, everything that can be imagined can become reality, can become actualized. Now, argue for me why that is possible and you might answer your own question.

[David M]

Communism isn't a dumb ideology, its one impractical for implementation as a large scale political system due to the inevitabilities of human nature.

[Ray Moscow]

Michael Shermer (a former Christian) has written about this quite a bit.

Basically, we usually adopt bad ideas for reasons that were never very smart to begin with. (I happen to have the excuse that I had a very strong religious brainwashing -- I mean, upbringing.) But even most people who were converted to religion as adults had that happen during a period of profound psychological crisis, when the old brain cells were not firing correctly.

Smart people can be very, very clever in defending bad ideas. That's basically what apologetics is -- intelligence rallied to defend dumb beliefs.

[Preno]

Smart people can be very, very clever in defending bad ideas.This.

Imo it's more about being honest with yourself than about intelligence as such. To quote Quine, "unscientific man is beset by a deplorable desire to have been right, the scientist is distinguished by a desire to be right".

[Lucretius III]

David Icke is not smart ... he was a football (soccer)goalkeeper after all .
They tend to be the tall lads at school who are too stupid to "play up front " and score goals.

[hecaterin]

"Smart" is not a unidimensional thing. One can easily be maths smart and people dumb, for instance.

[Quizalufagus]

It's not at all clear what 'smart' means even in a unidimensional setting. Measuring intelligence isn't nearly so simple as many think it is, and there are some good reasons to doubt that 'smart' refers to anything tangible.

[Per Ahlberg]

Communism isn't a dumb ideology, its one impractical for implementation as a large scale political system due to the inevitabilities of human nature.
I think this is an interesting point. The three-person economic system that is my family runs on what can only be described as communist lines: from each according to ability, to each according to need, no expropriation of surplus value, all the infrastructure is owned jointly by the two adults, and so forth. I imagine most families have similar economic systems. It works perfectly, but only because we are few enough and have strong enough loyalty bonds that there is no significant cheating. In a larger and less socially bonded group the system would quickly become unstable.

[SteveF]

We all have our intellectual blind spots. I like to think I'm pretty rational, but there are probably beliefs that I hold that are self contradictory and, well, don't make a great deal of sense. We are all irrational, just some people are more irrational than others.

[VoxRat]

We all have our intellectual blind spots. I like to think I'm pretty rational, but there are probably beliefs that I hold that are self contradictory and, well, don't make a great deal of sense. We are all irrational, just some people are more irrational than others.Probably...
I often wonder what my irrational beliefs are.

But two points:

1. "beliefs" =/= "ideologies"
Without looking up the official definition, I would guess an "ideology" is something like a system of beliefs; akin to a theory or maybe more aptly a religion.

2. How necessary are "beliefs"? (let alone "ideologies"?)
I guess you can minimize the danger of irrational beliefs by minimizing the number of beliefs, period. Of course Descartes thought of this a long time ago, but I would say he didn't go far enough.

[SteveF]

Probably...
I often wonder what my irrational beliefs are.

But two points:

1. "beliefs" =/= "ideologies"
Without looking up the official definition, I would guess an "ideology" is something like a system of beliefs; akin to a theory or maybe more aptly a religion.

2. How necessary are "beliefs"? (let alone "ideologies"?)
I guess you can minimize the danger of irrational beliefs by minimizing the number of beliefs, period. Of course Descartes thought of this a long time ago, but I would say he didn't go far enough.

I wonder if there is a continuum of irrationality. There is a low level, baseline that we all have (which is no great surprise given that we are members of the same species) and then a sliding scale up to full blown crazy ideologies and ultimately at the top, Dave Hawkins. Perhaps it's an exponential curve; the more units of irrationality you add, you hop orders of magnitude up the curve. That might explain why some people are so far into the realms of lunacy, despite ultimately working from a similar, Homo sapiens, mental blueprint.

[disgracian]

I speak from limited personal experience, of myself and others.

Beliefs are usually far more about emotional needs, which seem far most people to be a far more powerful force than intellectual rigor. To me it's not surprising that so many "smart" people believe in stupid shit. In most cases, the stupid belief was either force-fed to them as a child or adopted at a time of crisis in their lives, and the challenges involved in untangling themselves from it are different but have nothing to do with how smart they are.

For those indoctrinated as children, it shapes their whole outlook and they may simply lack the imagination to think outside their own box. In both cases, there is a lot of emotional investment build up in these beliefs and, as is the case with most addictions, going cold turkey is more than most people can deal with.

First one has to be interested in or aware of alternative views. This isn't so hard in this day and age. They also have to want to leave their old beliefs, and because they provide reassurance this is much rarer. Then they have to have the courage to face wounded pride, embarrassment, and the uncomfortable truth that what they believe at such a fundamental level is wrong. Once you start doubting, where do you stop?

Cheers,
D.

[Raza]

Because people aren't very creative thinkers. Raw processing power and ability to learn will let an individual excel at intellectual courses presented to them by their environment, such as the mastery of language or a given uni study, but it doesn't automatically immunise them to the osmosis-like mechanic by which the emotions involved in thought - such as those that make up conviction, or have us consider a given question worthy of thorough consideration - are generally transferred empathically from one person to another.

Thought requires ability and motivation in equal parts. Whether or not a given individual turns out to be a critical thinker capable of doing more with their intelligence than come up with more elaborate rationalizations for existing beliefs as they've been picked up from their surroundings throughout life is as much dependant on their emotional state of mind as it is on simply being smart.

[Plognark]

Smart people are good at rationalizing shit ideas.

Humans are only rational a small percentage of the time.

[Matty]

In Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast, Lewis Wolpert tackles one of the most important causes on the horizon of public debate: the nature of belief. Looking at belief's psychological basis and its possible evolutionary origins in physical cause and effect, Wolpert expertly investigates what science can tell us about those concepts we are so sure of, covering everything from everyday beliefs that give coherence to our experiences, to religious beliefs, to paranormal beliefs for which there is no evidence. Good read. Approaches all manner of silly beliefs like general superstitions and pattern recognition aspect all the way to fully fledged religion.

[SteveF]

Smart people are good at rationalizing shit ideas.

Humans are only rational a small percentage of the time.

One of my favourite quotes comes from the legendary biochemist Arthur Kornberg:

"Don't believe something just because you can explain it"

[rashreflection]

Michael Shermer (a former Christian) has written about this quite a bit.

Wasn't he a global-warming denier for the longest time? Or am I thinking of someone else?

And yes, it's easy for anyone to develop ideological blind spots due to childhood upbringing and/or emotional attachment.

-Josh