The Social Self: A Selection Advantage in Human Evolution

4min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

Jeffrey Segal: I'm very skeptical of any purported explanation for the success of such conspiracy theories, etc., which is too simple and cheap. Different people might have different reasons for joining QAnon and you need to take that into consideration. Jeffrey Segal: There's an attraction in human beings for simple, clear ways of thinking. He says it could be a selective advantage in human evolution where competing human groups needed to survive in absence of scientific knowledge.

Welcome to the July 2023 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by Patreon supporters (who are also the ones asking the questions). We take questions asked by Patreons, whittle them down to a more manageable number -- based primarily on whether I have anything interesting to say about them, not whether the questions themselves are good -- and sometimes group them together if they are about a similar topic.

We're experimenting with a new benefit for Patreon supporters: short video (or audio-only) reflections by me on the podcast that just happened. If you've been wondering whether to join up, this could be the time.

Blog post with questions and transcript: https://www.preposterousuniverse.com/podcast/2023/07/03/ama-july-2023/

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.