#112: Reliable Falsehoods, Consensus Bias & Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity
3 Ideas in 2 Minutes on Fighting Falsehoods
I. Reliable Falsehoods
Reliability can be a double-edged sword. Here’s psychologist Daniel Kahneman explaining how falsehoods are spread:
A reliable way to make people believe in falsehoods is frequent repetition, because familiarity is not easily distinguished from truth. Authoritarian institutions and marketers have always known this fact.
―Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow
II. Consensus Bias
There’s an old German maxim that says you shouldn’t judge others by your own standards (Du sollst nicht von dir auf andere schließen.) When inviting your new friends for dinner, you shouldn’t assume they like the same food as you. Your family’s favourite dish may not be as palatable to your friends as you think.
If you enjoy such seemingly obvious observations, you’ll love hearing about Consensus Bias. Also known as the False Consensus Effect, it says that we see our “own behavioral choices and judgments as relatively common and appropriate to existing circumstances”.
We perceive a ‘false consensus’ and have to find out the hard way: The classic East German dish known as dead grandma (tote Oma) is not everyone’s favourite.
III. Bonhoeffer's Theory of Stupidity
Don’t fear evil, fear stupidity! …sums up the Theory of Stupidity attributed to Dietrich Bonhoeffer. The German pastor was imprisoned for his resistance against the Nazis. In one of his Letters and Papers from Prison, he wrote:
Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease.
Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental.
―Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Bonhoeffer’s conclusion: Never try to persuade a stupid person with reasons. 🐘
Have a great week,
Chris
themindcollection.com
P.S.: If you haven’t already, check out some of my most recent long-form articles: