{"id":148476,"date":"2025-09-22T11:21:26","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=148476"},"modified":"2025-09-22T11:21:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T09:21:34","slug":"why-critical-thinking-is-disappearing-the-rise-of-collective-stupidity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=148476","title":{"rendered":"Why Critical Thinking Is Disappearing \u2013 The Rise of Collective Stupidity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"922\" height=\"519\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/rIO4IDMnBDU?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Now you know!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br \/>In a world overflowing with opinions, algorithms, and noise \u2014 why is clear thinking vanishing? This video uncovers the uncomfortable truth behind the disappearance of critical thinking and the rise of what philosophers now call collective stupidity \u2014 a condition where we stop questioning, start conforming, and lose our capacity for truth without even realizing it. \ud83d\udca1 In this deep dive, you&#8217;ll explore: How information overload, digital media, and education systems are rewiring your brain Why society conditions us not to think \u2014 and who benefits from that How thinkers like Carl Jung, Noam Chomsky, and Daniel Kahneman warned us decades ago The final truth: why critical thinking is not just an intellectual skill, but a spiritual act This video isn\u2019t meant to comfort. It\u2019s meant to wake you up.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now you know! In a world overflowing with opinions, algorithms, and noise \u2014 why is clear thinking vanishing? This video uncovers the uncomfortable truth behind the disappearance of critical thinking and the rise of what philosophers now call collective stupidity \u2014 a condition where we stop questioning, start conforming, and lose our capacity for truth [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":148478,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[193],"tags":[4267,4266],"class_list":["post-148476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-videos","tag-collective-stupidity","tag-critical-thinking"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-disappe.jpg?fit=1280%2C720&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":149166,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=149166","url_meta":{"origin":148476,"position":0},"title":"Why Critical Thinking is Dying: The Rise of Collective Stupidity Explained","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"21\/10\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/x0OVgz6U50I?si=rSZLFnyyEprDuYLf now you know","rel":"","context":"In &quot;videos&quot;","block_context":{"text":"videos","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=193"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-dying-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-dying-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-dying-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-dying-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/why-critical-thinking-is-dying-t.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":146644,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=146644","url_meta":{"origin":148476,"position":1},"title":"THE IDIOTOCALYPSE: Why We Can\u2019t Have Nice Things","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"14\/05\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By the time you're done reading this, you'll understand why intelligence is treated like contraband. Somewhere between \u201cinfluencer culture\u201d and billionaires launching penis-shaped rockets into the stratosphere, we slipped. Not stumbled\u2014slipped. Like a clown stepping on a banana peel tossed by a focus group. We are now living in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChatGPT-Image-May-14-2025-02_09_49-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChatGPT-Image-May-14-2025-02_09_49-PM.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChatGPT-Image-May-14-2025-02_09_49-PM.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/ChatGPT-Image-May-14-2025-02_09_49-PM.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120498,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=120498","url_meta":{"origin":148476,"position":2},"title":"The most basic form of human stupidity&#8230;","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"16\/10\/2014","format":false,"excerpt":"via thisisnthappiness The most basic form of human stupidity\u2026 was originally published on The Curious Brain","rel":"","context":"In &quot;all other stuff&quot;","block_context":{"text":"all other stuff","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/66.media.tumblr.com\/7b42f7d7bfcbec5f61d68f00736a006d\/tumblr_ndjv4tR2ES1qz6f9yo1_500.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":139795,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=139795","url_meta":{"origin":148476,"position":3},"title":"The Power of Diverse Thinking | Matthew Syed","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"14\/10\/2021","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/youtu.be\/E5UHfcwal0M Success is no longer about individual talent, knowledge or skill. 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Matthew Syed shows where the best ideas come from and how we can apply these ideas to tackling the biggest challenges\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;PPT\/ cool decks&quot;","block_context":{"text":"PPT\/ cool decks","link":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?cat=221"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-power-of-diverse-thinking-ma.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-power-of-diverse-thinking-ma.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-power-of-diverse-thinking-ma.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-power-of-diverse-thinking-ma.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/thecuriousbrain.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/the-power-of-diverse-thinking-ma.jpg?fit=1200%2C675&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":147829,"url":"https:\/\/thecuriousbrain.com\/?p=147829","url_meta":{"origin":148476,"position":4},"title":"Outsourced Thinking: How Overreliance on AI Is Dimming Strategy and Killing Surprise","author":"thebrainbehind","date":"04\/08\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"We used to have brainstorms. 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