[koonsolo]

I used to think this too, but when I look at the COVID and lockdown opinions of my facebook friends, they greatly differ, but their intelligence doesn't differ that much.

I know people as intelligent as me, to have complete opposite opinions. My first reaction was that they are stupid, but I actually know they are pretty smart.

It's easy to dismiss someone elses opinion as stupid, but it's really hard when you know it's not actually the case.

With the COVID situation, I concluded that there are more authoritative, "follow the rules" people, and more rebel, "we hate the rules" people. Thanks to covid I have a clear view who of my contacts belong to which group. Most of them are intelligent.

[_y5hn]

Intelligence have often less to do with rationality and objectivity, which can be used as facade to hide the biases.

[JohnBooty]

"Intelligence" is a complex and multidimensional thing.

Writing, math, human interactions, art, etc. These each require different sorts of intelligence. The dominant view on "intelligence" these days is something along these lines.

https://www.simplypsychology.org/multiple-intelligences.html

Those eight categories are perhaps a bit insufficient and arbitrary, but surely the overall notion rings true -- we have all known "smart" people who excelled in some of those areas while failing at others.

Sifting through the available information (and disinformation) and reaching a rational conclusion on something like COVID involves multiple axes of intelligence.

It requires a (somewhat rare? apparently?) combination of a base level of scientific literacy, and perhaps some interpersonal skills because sifting through the misinformation requires an understanding of various parties' motivations. As well as perhaps a few others.

[austincheney]

That is not the same thing. I doubt your friends are claiming to be some sort of insider expert and then imposing that expertise upon others like a hammer, which is entirely different than just being disagreeable.

[koonsolo]

Well, the rebels claimed that the covid tests were crap, numbers were being exagerated, government took the opportunity for more control, lockdowns are not necesarry, experts were short sighted idiots, thanked the anti-vaxers for not making vaccinations obligatory, gave everyone shit for not taking the streets and fighting authority.

Then the lawful people claimed extreme situations require extreme measures, experts know best, high numbers are because stupid people don't follow the rules, etc.

[austincheney]

That still doesn’t sound like claims of expertise. Worse, it doesn’t even sound original. I suspect they were parroting nonsense they heard from somewhere else. Sure, when called out that sounds stupid too, but it isn’t quite the same thing.