Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which antivaxxers? There’s a difference between the people causing smallpox to come back, and people who aren’t doing covid boosters anymore.

+1

I am all for vaccines, but have not and will not get another Covid booster until it actually prevents illness and transmission.

So you don't get the flu shot either, I presume?

NP. The flu shot is actually really great at preventing transmission.

Plus, I don't get side effects from it. The covid vax will knock me out for 1-2 days, which is absurd. When I finally got covid 3 months ago, I was knocked out for 3 days (despite not having had a shot for 2 years). It's worth it to me to just get actual covid and skip the shots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're research scientists with MDs and PhDs and NO, we personally know (or have heard of in our circle) absolutely zero PhDs or MDs who are vaccine-deniers.

My aunt, who has a high school diploma, became a raw vegan, and vaccine denier, decades ago. She died of Covid last year.
She was intelligent, but with a very contrarian, anti-establishment sort of personality. She felt the government was hiding things from her, the medical establishment was under the control of Big Pharma, etc. She lacked the critical thinking and scientific approach necessary to distinguish false experts from legitimate ones. Despite our efforts at providing information, she did not deviate from her beliefs, and died for them.

I think some human brains are just wired to find satisfaction in countering the established knowledge and power centers. They're people who feel stifled by the mundanity of their daily lives, and feel compelled to seek more exciting/grandiose explanations that place them in more central roles. Some may be twice exceptional (high IQ with ADHD/ASD/learning disabilities) who are underemployed and lack constructive outlets for their splinter skills.

It becomes Main Character Syndrome, in a way. The "I know better, you guys are just sheep" way of life. It boils down to a certain type of neurodivergence.

This is so well said. I think the bolded is particularly good. Being an extremely small, impotent part of a vast and indifferent universe is absolutely soul-crushing to some people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We're research scientists with MDs and PhDs and NO, we personally know (or have heard of in our circle) absolutely zero PhDs or MDs who are vaccine-deniers.

My aunt, who has a high school diploma, became a raw vegan, and vaccine denier, decades ago. She died of Covid last year.
She was intelligent, but with a very contrarian, anti-establishment sort of personality. She felt the government was hiding things from her, the medical establishment was under the control of Big Pharma, etc. She lacked the critical thinking and scientific approach necessary to distinguish false experts from legitimate ones. Despite our efforts at providing information, she did not deviate from her beliefs, and died for them.

I think some human brains are just wired to find satisfaction in countering the established knowledge and power centers. They're people who feel stifled by the mundanity of their daily lives, and feel compelled to seek more exciting/grandiose explanations that place them in more central roles. Some may be twice exceptional (high IQ with ADHD/ASD/learning disabilities) who are underemployed and lack constructive outlets for their splinter skills.

It becomes Main Character Syndrome, in a way. The "I know better, you guys are just sheep" way of life. It boils down to a certain type of neurodivergence.

I really haven’t seen this in my 2E community - there are a few, but no more than in other communities.

PP you replied to. Perhaps. My husband and son are 2e, so of course I am aware you can be 2e and not prone to conspiracies.

Conspiracy theories in general were kept at the margins of society before the pandemic. What brought many to the fore (vaccines, QAnon, election fraud, etc) is social isolation. Homo Sapiens is a highly social animal and its successful spread across the world and technological dominance has depended on frequent association and communication with others. People who are forced into isolation tend to become irrational. People who spend their time in echo chambers of ideas tend to lose all sense of proportion, and lose their ability to relate to others who do not believe the same things. In that context, it makes sense that a certain tranche of the population, who has a predisposition to perseverate and hyperfocus on topics of interest (including people on the spectrum and people with ADHD, who may have difficulty socializing successful in more standard social milieus to begin with), will become more vulnerable than others to conspiracies.

Social isolation and internet echo chambers of disinformation paved the way for conspiracy theories to infiltrate the mainstream debate.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:All the people I know, or know of, who died were unvaccinated . Enough for me.

Not one person in my universe even went to the hospital for covid

Soon after vaccine one dropped dead heart attack and one stroke.

Critical thinking at work!