The following have a common underlying causative factor:
1. Vulnerability to cults and conspiracy theories.
2. Fundamentalism – religious, political, or economic.
3. Superstition.
4. Prejudice – racial, religious, anti-outsider, anti-immigrant, etc.
5. Vulnerability to fad diets, cure-all medicines, unworkable hacks, etc.
What is the common factor?
It is our compulsive desire to seek simple answers to complex problems. We don’t want to hear a complex story – we want a unidimensional answer.
You are not finding jobs? “That other guy (e.g., immigrant, other caste, other religion) is to blame. Ged rid of him.”
You are struggling in life? “Just follow what I say – I will save you.”
You are having health problems? “Just take this pill – diabetes, cancer, covid – all will be gone.”
Instead, what if someone told us – “Look, there are no easy answers. You have to work hard, take these medicines, or do whatever… and by the way, there are no guarantees.” Who wants to hear that?
But life is complex. Our problems are complex. And quite often, the solutions are complex (i.e., nuanced).
Never take anyone’s word as gospel. Question everything. Question everybody. Be critical. Don’t stereotype people.
The day we suspend our critical thinking, someone is waiting to manipulate us.
– Rajan