You know, Ive been thinking...

[DossarLX ODI]

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

Of course, telling people that they need to learn more / get educated in the underlying subjects is seen as arrogant. So in many ways, it's a lose/lose. You either have to explain a huge collection of complex frameworks to people who have little exposure to that kind of thinking (and have it fall on deaf ears), or be labeled arrogant for telling them that they are not educated enough to understand why their arguments are poor.

I would definitely see that as an insult rather than an explanation because it doesn't tell that person anything. Saying "get educated" literally does not add any useful information whatsoever. If you asked me a question and I said "get educated", not only am I not giving you information, I'm insulting you.

Originally Posted by Reincarnate

So, in using the analogy, it's a lot like dealing with someone who thinks the Earth is flat. There's just no polite way to tell them that their stance is untenable, especially if they're heavily invested in it emotionally. Some people simply don't care. Even if they can understand the counter-arguments on a rational level, sometimes it's just easier to keep on believing in a higher power like they were before.

You could say the same thing for people who sell drugs. Most of them don't care if peoples' lives are being ruined from selling said drugs, but some do it because it's much easier (and in their case, more satisfying) than trying to get into a technical profession where professors say to solve everything yourself and basically say "fuck you" from this. Or you could also just say that selling drugs would be better than interviewing at companies and not getting any positions. There are many factors to consider.

If someone rarely ever gets explanations and is just told to "discover for themselves" it makes sense that people will rather just go to other alternatives than reinvent the wheel. People who say they don't believe in evolution never say "discover for yourself". Notice how for other superstitious beliefs, there is never that "discover for yourself" aspect. They just flat out say it's true.