03-04-2013, 11:14 PM
Thanks for posting this essay. Group think manifests wherever there are groups... and those in poiwer, the mainstream media which carries water for them are not the only examples of group think.
The phenemona is likely related to the fact that individuals are forced to accept the information. data, and so forth of others because no individual is capable of having first hand knowledge of the issues, and the broad base of history to inform their thinking along with all sorts of technical esoterica. What appears to happen is that *experts* emerge who announciate over arching positions or views and these are adapted and parroted by the group... those who haven't done the heavy lifting to make their own truly informed decisions.
So evidence becomes critical to forming a position. The problem is then is the evidence set complete? Is it complete enough? Is it accurate? Are the sources of the evidence reliable? Can we understand the evidence?
9/11 is a laboratory for understanding how people think or don't think, parrot and slot themselves into group think and groups which hardly represent the actual details of the event as much as a perspective driven by a political frame. Most people are group thinkers because they are incapable of thinking for themselves, beginning with ferreting out evidence, understanding it and constructing a coherent explanation. They follow a leader.
And when they do that because of career pressure... it says a lot about what society thinks about free thought.
The phenemona is likely related to the fact that individuals are forced to accept the information. data, and so forth of others because no individual is capable of having first hand knowledge of the issues, and the broad base of history to inform their thinking along with all sorts of technical esoterica. What appears to happen is that *experts* emerge who announciate over arching positions or views and these are adapted and parroted by the group... those who haven't done the heavy lifting to make their own truly informed decisions.
So evidence becomes critical to forming a position. The problem is then is the evidence set complete? Is it complete enough? Is it accurate? Are the sources of the evidence reliable? Can we understand the evidence?
9/11 is a laboratory for understanding how people think or don't think, parrot and slot themselves into group think and groups which hardly represent the actual details of the event as much as a perspective driven by a political frame. Most people are group thinkers because they are incapable of thinking for themselves, beginning with ferreting out evidence, understanding it and constructing a coherent explanation. They follow a leader.
And when they do that because of career pressure... it says a lot about what society thinks about free thought.