It’s about agency. They want to feel like they, too, have a claim to Truth, because they can always just reject what you say, so they have “equal say” in their minds. They don’t understand science, they have no education, and they feel like “the man” is telling them what to think, so they just reject the concept of science and come to their own conclusions and will not be swayed.
Also in some cases it gives them a built-in sense of community and belonging, something they haven’t experienced. The documentary Behind the Curve does a good job of pitying flat earthers rather than just ridiculing them. (Though they are absolutely subject to ridicule.)
I think it’s also about cult mindsets. If a scientist says the earth is billions of years old that also means there’s no heaven and the alienated existence under capitalism is all you get. There’s a phrase I heard from religious-types: “would you rather this be the closest you get to heaven or hell?” They really see earth as hell and are only here to recruit and die.
It’s about agency. They want to feel like they, too, have a claim to Truth, because they can always just reject what you say, so they have “equal say” in their minds. They don’t understand science, they have no education, and they feel like “the man” is telling them what to think, so they just reject the concept of science and come to their own conclusions and will not be swayed.
Also in some cases it gives them a built-in sense of community and belonging, something they haven’t experienced. The documentary Behind the Curve does a good job of pitying flat earthers rather than just ridiculing them. (Though they are absolutely subject to ridicule.)
Idiots praising each other is a disastrous thing.
I think it’s also about cult mindsets. If a scientist says the earth is billions of years old that also means there’s no heaven and the alienated existence under capitalism is all you get. There’s a phrase I heard from religious-types: “would you rather this be the closest you get to heaven or hell?” They really see earth as hell and are only here to recruit and die.