I no longer believe that's the root, or even the primary, cause.
I keep thinking about Michael Crichton. He transmorphed from reality-based to nutter. What happened? Religion wasn't a factor. So what radicalized him?
Historian Joanna Radin's theory, paraphrasing, is that Crichton's full faith and trust in The System was so completely shattered, by the Vietnam War and other outrages, that he completely flipped.
The theme of the second season of Jill Lepore's The Last Archive podcast is about skepticism ("What fed Doubt?") S01E06 "It Came From Outer Space" includes the example of Crichton's radicalization.
specialist|2 years ago
I keep thinking about Michael Crichton. He transmorphed from reality-based to nutter. What happened? Religion wasn't a factor. So what radicalized him?
Historian Joanna Radin's theory, paraphrasing, is that Crichton's full faith and trust in The System was so completely shattered, by the Vietnam War and other outrages, that he completely flipped.
The Speculative Present - How Michael Crichton Colonized the Future of Science and Technology https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/704047
The theme of the second season of Jill Lepore's The Last Archive podcast is about skepticism ("What fed Doubt?") S01E06 "It Came From Outer Space" includes the example of Crichton's radicalization.
https://www.thelastarchive.com/season-2-episodes
Lepore has completely opened up my mind about anti-science, conspiracy, and other social pathogens. Made me a bit more empathetic.
Highest recommendation.