The likelihood of herd mentality is around 80% for people in general. We are a social/herd species.
The herd is correct and has the best solution 80% of the time.. this is why crowdsourcing has been so successful (with some big exceptions) The 20% of the time when the herd is wrong has two important attributes. 1) Its usually something big and 2) as science marches on, most of the herd doesn't understand or comprehend the technical stuff.
With most of our society moving in a technological direction, that 80% is falling.. probably attributed to Dunning Kruger syndrome.
The 20% outliers tend to be more questioning of the narrative, whatever it may be, and put in effort to research opposing views.
The 20% of outliers tend to be conspiracy morons these days.. That's not "more questioning of the narrative". How is a person without an education in medicine is going to question the medical science they don't understand in the first place?
That's a bit like a 5 year old questioning your tax returns.... and that's a pretty good analogy on this level.
Some moron who doesn't know the difference between a covalent bond and an ionic bond is going to "question" the scientific findings of some of the best minds in the country and we're supposed to view such thing as legitimate?
There's a big difference between a qualified and educated professional questioning the conclusions within his own circles of research and some uneducated moron who thinks the evil government is out to get them and make a profit.
One is legitimate, the other is a mental health issue.
Many of your replies in this thread plant you firmly in that 80%. That isn't necessarily a bad thing. It just makes you average. But as I mentioned above, You are more in the Milgram camp. The "experts" say...
The fact is, my replies might go with the herd 80% of the time BECAUSE the herd is correct 80% of the time.. its that other 20% that we must be concerned about. Regardless, I don't follow the crowd or the herd.. In fact, nothing in my life would paint me as a follower. Even as a child, when the other kids were playing sports, I was building and flying RC airplanes, boats, and helicopters, launching rockets, and making black powder. As an adult, my only exposure to herd behavior was my military service, in which I had no choice in the matter. (I don't think school counts either way) And after that, I was an employer, not an employee.
One of the problems we have today is that people are identifying themselves and classifying themselves within parameters others have provided for them.. I'm a consevative, I'm a liberal, I'm a republican, I'm a democrat, etc etc.. Hence the "when they want your opinion, they'll give it to you" comments. The problem is that even if the other guy, the polar political opposite of one's own opinions, is correct, people will still go the other way if they're on the other side of the fence.
If one of the political parties said a space rock was going to impact the earth in five years, the other party would claim it won't. Seriously, that's how bad it has gotten today.
I am, however, open to evidence to the contrary and I find your knowledge in things electrical top-notch impressive and downright educational.
Thank you.. Don't mean to be a dick, but the two other morons posting before you have said things so outlandishly stupid it makes me wonder how the hell they survived puberty.. or maybe they haven't survived it yet.
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