[keenmaster]

The solution is not technological. It is social. We should not cynically dismiss the average person’s capacity for rationality. Through sustained effort, we can produce a society where people penalize provocative, sectarian memes and reward scientific, rational, progressive efforts.

If that seems quaint, consider the alternative. The internet gives nuclear-scale ammunition to fear mongerers and foreign agents. Scientific nation building, moderated by democratic humanitarianism, is a necessity not a fantasy in this day and age.