BLUF:

• the Universe seems mostly well-explained by modern conventional-consensus mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology – logic, calculus, gravity, quanta, atoms, evolution, etc
• minds are complex and hard to understand; thinking is subject to diverse failure modes – bias, irrationality, obsessiveness, insanity, etc
• social systems are complex and often unstable – economic collapse, mass movements, crowd madness, violent conflicts, revolutions, etc
• the best explanation for most bizarre phenomena is that people are often fallible, gullible, and mistaken – rather than arcane knowledge, cover-ups by public authorities, extraordinary mental powers, supernatural revelations by charismatic gurus, alien visitors from other planets, etc

Ross Douthat's fascinating NYT op-ed "This C.S. Lewis Novel Helps Explain the Weirdness of 2023" hints at an excellent hypothesis about many current and classic social-personal problems – human psychology gone astray. Douthat springboards off the fantasy-sf-novel That Hideous Strength, wherein a techno-elite conspiracy is connecting to satanic powers. He cites Zoe Curzi's description of her experiences in a post-rationalist group that maybe was trying to save the world, but maybe went down a rabbit-hole of cultish groupthink.

Douthat said in 2019 [1], "The wild theories are false; even so, the secrets and mysteries are real." Yes! And the best way to understand secrets and mysteries is patient, open, rational, evidence-based discussion – that is, science.

(cf ScienceAndPseudoscience (2001-10-06), ScientificRevolutions (2002-08-16), ExaggeratedCertainty (2002-12-16), PickyAboutFacts (2003-03-11), ...) ^z - 2023-06-17