In case you haven’t noticed there is a stupidity pandemic. It’s a pandemic because it rages throughout the world. Perhaps the most conspicuous example are the religious wars. These wars are several centuries out of date. Terrorism is a religious war being largely fought within the Islamic faith with some terrorists groups targeting the west. Then there is Brexit, a phenomenon that was not predicted by professional politicians. In general there is lack of faith in what is called the “establishment” and in bodies of knowledge such as science.
In the United States there is the phenomenon of Donald Trump. When Trump began his campaign it was regarded as a joke and was quite funny. It is still a joke, but one that is no longer funny. If every vote had counted in the United States, the Trump problem would not exist. But an archaic and stupid institution called the electoral college elected Trump, therefore nullifying the will of the majority of US citizens.
So what has Nobel Lauerate Daniel Kahneman have to do with this? His two process theory of human cognition provides a means of understanding this pandemic. System 1 refers to our normal mode of cognition. It is very fast and allows for fluent conversations and skilled performance. It is the default mode of cognition. System 2 is called reasoning and corresponds to what we colloquially call thinking. System 2 requires attention and mental effort. One of the jobs of System 2 is to monitor System 1 for errors. However, this requires mental effort and thinking.
Experiments have been run where statements are presented to the research participant. The brain is monitored. When a statement conflicts with a participant’s individual beliefs, a signature is reported from the brain. The question is whether this statement will be ignored, or whether the participant engages in deeper thought to reconsider this statement. There is a cognitive cost here and the simplest reaction is to ignore the statement and regard it as a mistaken belief.
Trump’s victory was a victory for System 1 processing. System 1 appeals to fears, emotions, bigotry, and so forth. Trump is a genius at connecting with and exploiting the System 1 processes of people. Trump himself rarely uses System 2 processing. He does not read books, does not think he needs to attend briefings because he knows everything already. His gut, his System 1 processing, tells him what is true. However, Trump does not care what is true. It is whatever he believes at the moment, and this does change from moment to moment. This is one of the reasons he is such an effective liar. He does not care what is true. It is whatever is expedient for the moment. When confronted with his lies, he denies the truth. His promise to make America great again was predicated on the lie that the United States is not regarded throughout the world as a great country. Enemies dislike the politics of Americans, but nevertheless respect its greatness.
Totalitarian countries have exploited the big lie, and so does Trump. See the healthy memory blog “Sick Memory.” Lying has become a profitable industry. Dana Milbank had an interesting column in the 21 December 2016 Washington Post title “Hoping that he didn’t really mean it.” Milbank pointed out that many areas of the country that went for Trump will suffer deeply from cuts in government spending that will occur if Trump acts on his promises. The title of Milbank’s article provides the explanation of how these voters reconcile their vote with the adverse effects that will affect them personally.
It is clear that these people did not employ System 2 processing when they voted. There is justification for believing that these people rarely engaging in System 2 processing. Like Trump, they go with their gut feelings. Unfortunately, there is some question if such people will ever realize that they have screwed themselves. Trump can continue to exploit their fears and bigotry to keep them in line.
© Douglas Griffith and healthymemory.wordpress.com, 2016. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Douglas Griffith and healthymemory.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.
Tags: Autonomic nervous system, Brexit, Daniel Kahneman, religious wars, Stupidity, System2, Trump
Healthymemory's Blog 
Leave a comment