Younger people (e.g., my undergraduate students) seem more willing to entertain scenarios of catastrophes and extinction compared to older people (e.g., academics). I find that strange and I don’t have a good explanation as to why that is the case.
Some hypotheses to test - Younger people are more likely to hold and signal radical beliefs and the possibility of extinction is seen as more radical and exciting compared to humanity muddling through like it’s done in the past - Younger people are just beginning to grapple with their own mortality which freaks them out whereas older people are more likely to have made peace with it in some sense - Older people have survived through many events (including often fairly traumatic ones) so are more likely to have a view of a world that “gets through things” as this aligns with their personal experience - Older people have been around for a number of past catastrophic predictions that turned out to be wrong?
- Older people have survived through many events (including often fairly traumatic ones) so are more likely to have a view of a world that “gets through things” as this aligns with their personal experience - Older people have been around for a number of past catastrophic predictions that turned out to be wrong?
Nuclear war has been in the news for more than 60 years, and a high priority has been placed on spending those >60 years influencing public opinion on nuclear war via extremely carefully worded statements by spokespeople, which in turn were ghostwritten by spin doctors and other psychological experts with a profoundly strong understanding of news media corporations. This is the main reason, and possibly the only reason, why neither of the two American policial parties or presidential candidates have ever adopted disarmament as part of their nationwide party platform during any elections in that time period.
They weren’t successful at their goals 100% of the time (Soviet Propaganda operations may have contributed), but their efforts (and the fact that nuclear war scared people but never happened once for 60+ years) strongly affected the life experiences and cultural development of older people while they were younger.
I would suggest that new paradigms are most likely to establish themselves among the young because they are still in the part of their life where they are figuring out their views.
Some hypotheses to test
- Younger people are more likely to hold and signal radical beliefs and the possibility of extinction is seen as more radical and exciting compared to humanity muddling through like it’s done in the past
- Younger people are just beginning to grapple with their own mortality which freaks them out whereas older people are more likely to have made peace with it in some sense
- Older people have survived through many events (including often fairly traumatic ones) so are more likely to have a view of a world that “gets through things” as this aligns with their personal experience
- Older people have been around for a number of past catastrophic predictions that turned out to be wrong?
Nuclear war has been in the news for more than 60 years, and a high priority has been placed on spending those >60 years influencing public opinion on nuclear war via extremely carefully worded statements by spokespeople, which in turn were ghostwritten by spin doctors and other psychological experts with a profoundly strong understanding of news media corporations. This is the main reason, and possibly the only reason, why neither of the two American policial parties or presidential candidates have ever adopted disarmament as part of their nationwide party platform during any elections in that time period.
They weren’t successful at their goals 100% of the time (Soviet Propaganda operations may have contributed), but their efforts (and the fact that nuclear war scared people but never happened once for 60+ years) strongly affected the life experiences and cultural development of older people while they were younger.
I would suggest that new paradigms are most likely to establish themselves among the young because they are still in the part of their life where they are figuring out their views.