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Comment by sxp | Hacker News Reader

Can't this statement be generalized from "conspiracy theorists" to "most people"? E.g, "Religious people unaware their their religion is in the minority"? Unless a person has subjected their belief to rigorous scrutiny and debate, they will probably be unaware about how many people in the world agree or disagree with it.

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I think the more interesting one is "religious people unaware their religion is in the majority".

I don't believe rigorous scrutiny and debate would have this effect at all. Most people would just get defensive and entrench. There has to be another way to reveal reality to them that doesn't result in their entrenchment.

> There has to be another way to reveal reality to them that doesn't result in their entrenchment.

Before you reveal anything to them, make sure you are actually revealing reality and not just your version of the story.

There are degrees of things. It's true that many people have some beliefs that are unconventional, irrational, or even radical, but many also realise at least to some level. There are many religious people who will admit they can't prove any of it.

Similarly, in general people tend to overestimate how much people agree with them, but you can overestimate by a little or by a whole lot.

It's my general observation that many conspiracy theorists are far more sure of "the truth" as they see it than the average person. This is also why so many keep banging on about it in any venue, whether appropriate or not.

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