Flat Earth

[Tony Oday]

I have a friend that makes big money and thinks flat earth is real. I just cannot believe it, a generally smart woman that I literally had to just say I have to let you go. I mean she made $400k last year so I guess money doesn't buy insulation from crazy thoughts.

[smuggler]

I think it's a mental strategy for people who are insecure. It goes something like this, tracking from the perspective of the 'believer':

1. Oh, this person thinks they're so much smarter than me.

2. I'm going to dupe them and prove I'm smarter.

3. I'm going to trick them into thinking I'm a huge idiot.

4. Ha! I've done it, and they're so disturbed by it! Double win!

5. I'm clearly smarter.

Insert impossibly stupid belief. In your example, flat earth.

[MadScientist]

Or more likely their ability to critical think craters once they are outside their actual field. So if they get pulled into it a belief by some internet video and they think that they have to hold onto it or everyone will think that they are idiots

[red]

shows how easy it is to manipulate anyone

you tell someone the same lie over and over again long enough, and people will start to believe anything, even things they can see with there own eyes

plus there is a lot of very believable crap all over the interwebs, and once you go down that rabbit hole, its easy to believe any other stupid thing you hear

we me, i blame the callapse of humanity and the TV show ancient aliens. it was basically a group of people in an echo chamber agree with each others insane ideas. some people actually got to the point where they were throwing fits trying to get schools to teach the ancient alien crap in schools

oh, and people are sheep

[MadScientist]

People are fooled easily, especially when they are not expecting to be fooled. It gets compounded when they make that position part of their identity and won't accept contrary evidence.

Those bullshit woo-woo reality shows aren't the whole problem, but they sure don't help. Before Ancient Aliens, there was crap like the psychic John Edwards (see South Parks 'Biggest Douche in the Galaxy') which the ads kept saying it wasn't cold reading, but it only took a few seconds of watching to see that it was cold reading.