Facts vs fiction

The most fascinating trait of human beings is their ability to believe in fiction as if it were fact.

I see a lot of people on social media believing things that are simply not true. That sunscreen doesn’t prevent cancer but actually causes it. That a “Great Replacement” is being orchestrated by “The Left” that will eradicate white people.

These things are of course utter nonsense, and even very dangerous to believe. The tragic killing of 10 people in Buffalo is proof.

But our ability to believe in fiction isn’t only bad.

If you think about it, all the good things in society are also stories we made up. Democracy is a story we made up. Countries are stories we made up. So are laws, money, the constitution and pretty much everything that holds our societies together. They weren’t created by nature or the universe, they were created by us. They are stories we keep telling each other.

So the question then becomes: which stories are good for us, and which are harmful? And how can we make the good stories more appealing than the bad ones?