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#180 – Hugo Mercier on why gullibility and misinformation are overrated

80,000 Hours Podcast

NOTE

Vaccination Receives Skepticism Because It Is Unintuitive, Not Because It "Causes Autism"

The skepticism towards vaccination is not due to beliefs about it causing autism but rather because it is an unintuitive therapy. The concept of taking something from a sick person and introducing it into a healthy individual does not resonate well with many people, leading to doubts about the effectiveness of vaccines. Different cultures have various reasons for skepticism, such as the fear of vaccines causing autism in Western cultures, turning you into a cow from smallpox inoculation, or causing sterility or other negative effects. Despite the diversity in justifications, the underlying motivation for vaccination is widely accepted. Anti-vaccination sentiments exist in every population, reflecting the universal skepticism towards vaccines based on their unintuitive nature.

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