okay a lot of that is good and all, but here's the flipside: a lot of these fuckwits outright prey on naïve curiousity. it is one of their biggest feeders for taking in people who don't yet know any better

and that's kinda the point. broadly I agree with you, but curiousity is/can be a dangerous thing

(also the reason I asked was the framing of one of your statements, so: Rationalism, big-R specifically. congratulations on learning about some of the worst people around)

[–] Olhonestjim@lemmy.world 4 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

Yes, I've gradually become aware of that. You make a good point. It famously tends to kill cats.

I managed to avoid a lot of that, somehow, fortunately. I know my path isn't everyone else's and I certainly wouldn't wish mine on anyone. I dumped Kent Hovind and Ken Hamm and went straight to people like Carl Sagan and Mr Rogers, and made a bunch of leftist and gay friends I'd always been warned to avoid. I never understood the appeal of Jordan Peterson and his ilk.

Actually, I did still get hooked by Graham Hancock for a few weeks a while back. But I'm guarded against grandiose claims and quickly checked out his critics. Lesson learned. I may be vaccinated, but I'm not immune.