Recently, I had a chat with LK, and we discussed how ignorant many people are about objective facts that are important right now. Many people take a quick Wikipedia/Google search on a subject and take it as gospel. They do not even know how to search for peer reviewed scientific search easily ready by the general public to understand the science behind what is going on. For example, she noted that her mom didn't know about Google Scholar, and didn't have a clue about how to find useful data in this area.
But we shouldn't limit ourselves to serious sites. Many people can't figure out that the Onion is a satirical site, and not real news. Even worse, they are often clueless when it comes to the problems with Dihydrogen Monoxide. Many people are no longer capable of critical thinking, and it's frightening. They now depend on 3 second sound bites from their political pundit of choice, and that's not good for a democratic republic.
We're seeing book bans in schools for materials which are total BS, save that they make you think. What is it about critical thought that some politicians fear? Maybe that people would see that these leaders are selling us snake oil?
