Quote:
Originally Posted by Red Ice Player
We, the posters who have always despised Trump, figured this out long ago and that's bad? No group convinced me to have the opinion I have. I have frikken eyes as does everyone here. Maybe you should have started paying attention earlier, like we did.
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Yeah, this is still a significant problem. As far as I can tell this administration is likely the greatest threat to human flourishing that the world has faced in my lifetime. But having everyone pulling in the same ideological direction with no one raising any objection or question to disturb that momentum is, inevitably, a bad thing.
http://www.spectator.co.uk/2009/07/t...ou-agree-with/
Quote:
So why do like-minded people go to extremes? The most important reason for group polarisation, which is key to extremism in all its forms, involves the exchange of new information. Group polarisation often occurs because people are telling one another what they know, and what they know is skewed in a predictable direction. When they listen to each other, they move. [...]
Those who lack confidence and who are unsure what they should think tend to moderate their views. Suppose that you are asked what you think about some question on which you lack information. You are likely to avoid extremes. It is for this reason that cautious people, not knowing what to do, tend to choose some midpoint between the extremes. But if other people seem to share their views, people become more confident that they are correct.
As a result, they will probably move in a more extreme direction. What is especially noteworthy is that this process of increased confidence and increased extremism is often occurring simultaneously for all participants.
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Mill was right, and science backs him up.