[Recording Start]
Scott Douglas Jacobsen: We’re all set, so go ahead.
Rick Rosner: Alright, so it’s this bizarre situation in America right now. Under Trump, it seemed like tens of millions of Americans were inclined to believe in nonsense. But it wasn’t as tangible as it is now, where we have a large number of hardcore anti-vaxxers, mask opponents, and to some extent, COVID deniers. This defies the overwhelming evidence that COVID is incredibly dangerous. In the U.S., COVID has become the deadliest event in history, with nearly three-quarters of a million deaths, surpassing any single event like a war or another pandemic. Not in terms of percentage, though – the Civil War likely had a higher death rate because of the smaller population at the time. But COVID is extremely lethal, and beyond its death toll, tens of millions have been infected, with a significant portion suffering long-term effects. Yet, so many Americans act as if it’s no big deal, evidenced by stories of pastors who mocked COVID precautions and are now either dead or suffering. These Americans believe in the same falsehoods, despite our highly evolved brains, developed over billions of years of evolution.
Jacobsen: Life began around three and a half billion years ago.
Rosner: Right, so our brains, these highly evolved organs, are meant to help us navigate reality. This raises the question: why are so many Americans currently disregarding reality? I believe it’s because our brains evolved in an environment devoid of systematic misinformation. For instance, our food preferences evolved during times when high-calorie foods like sugar and fat were scarce and vital for survival. Now, in an era of abundant food, these same preferences contribute to obesity. Similarly, our ancestors didn’t face the challenge of resisting deliberately false information, as there were no organizations or social media to spread it. Consequently, we are less equipped to deal with such misinformation today, leading many to fall prey to falsehoods. That’s essentially it, though we could delve a bit into the nature of deception.
[Recording End]
Authors
Rick Rosner
American Television Writer
Scott Douglas Jacobsen
Founder, In-Sight Publishing
In-Sight Publishing
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In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://www.rickrosner.org.
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Rick Rosner 