The Death of Critical Thinking: Have we become willing idiots?

Our Comfortable Slide into Stupidity

Back in my day, being labelled an idiot was embarrassing. Not knowing things came with a sense of shame, a drive to learn, a desperate scramble to disguise ignorance before someone called you out. Now? Now, for many, ignorance seems to be a bona fide personality trait, a badge of honour, a weapon wielded in the culture wars with the same smugness as a flat-earther at a NASA convention. But then, how can someone "wear" ignorance as a badge of honour if they’re too ignorant to realise they’re ignorant in the first place? If the idiot is too idiotic to see that the joke is on THEM, then how the hell does anyone fix anything? (FUC me, here I go…)

This gives me the creeps. Just llike a collective lack of critical thought.

Well, we now live in the so-called "Information Age," a time when human knowledge is more accessible than ever before - and bugger me, when I first saw a rotary telephone, I thought it was the peak of modern invention - how far we’d come! Decades later, we really do carry the sum total of human knowledge in our pockets, yet we’ve somehow become more ignorant. Progress hasn’t made us smarter; it’s just made us faster at spreading stupidity. Instead of using unlimited access to information to broaden our thinking, we’ve used it to build stronger echo chambers that more often than not amplify a load of BS.

But yet, here we are, drowning in nonsense, willingly handcuffed to our own confirmation bias, incapable of dissecting even the simplest of ideas without retreating into ideological bunkers. How did this happen? How did we, as a society, manage to take the greatest tool of enlightenment - unlimited access to information - and use it to accelerate our collective brain rot?

I’ve already written about some basic examples of critical thinking, and I’ll get back to writing more on that specific topic again soon. For now though, there’s too much going on in the world that’s making my decrepit brain hurt.

Sponsored Ad:

More Information, Less Intelligence

You’d think that having instant access to the entire history of human knowledge would make us smarter. That facts, logic, and reason would thrive in an era where they can be summoned in seconds. But instead, I say the opposite has (mostly) happened. Lots of us are more gullible, more reactionary, and more intellectually lazy than ever before.

The problem isn’t just that we refuse to think critically. It’s that we no longer see the value in it. Thinking is hard. Thinking requires effort. And in a world where feeling is easier than reasoning, why bother? Why analyse when you can just react? Why seek truth when you can just believe? (Fret not, we’ll go down the rabbit hole of ‘beliefs’ another time). Far too many now live in a world where opinion outweighs evidence, where tribal loyalty trumps logic and the truth (subtle wink), and where anyone who challenges your worldview isn’t just a critic - they’re an enemy. Whatever happened to a good old, well-meaning and spirited debate?

From Socrates to Social Media

Socrates, to most the father of Western philosophy, was flippin’ well executed for (wait for it…) corrupting the youth - his crime being that he taught young’uns to think critically and question authority (and yes I know he was a little sceptical of democracy too but no-one is perfect).

Socrates was not a happy fellow at the end.

Orwell warned us that language would be the battlefield of thought, that if you could control words, you could control reality. And yet, Orwell’s vision now looks almost utopian compared to where we’ve ended up. Just look at how easily language is manipulated today:

• Words are constantly redefined to fit ideological narratives, often shifting so fast that yesterday’s truth is today’s heresy.

• Censorship masquerades as “safety”, with platforms selectively deciding what constitutes “harm” based on who holds the power. And worst of all...

  
  

Disagreement is rebranded as aggression or ‘violence’, so difficult conversations are avoided entirely.

Hannah Arendt dissected totalitarianism and concluded that the ideal subject of a tyrannical regime isn’t a true believer, but the exhausted mind - the person who gives up on truth altogether because the information landscape is too chaotic to navigate.

Sound familiar?

We are so bombarded with contradictory narratives, manufactured outrage, and ideological purity tests that many people have simply stopped thinking critically altogether. Instead of engaging with messy, nuanced reality, we retreat into echo chambers where thought is replaced by slogans and truth is whatever feels safest.

We now have entire segments of society who believe that simply feeling strongly about something is the same as understanding it. Jeez-Louise.

Sponsored Ad:

The Modern Plague: Performative Ignorance

⚠️ STOP! Critical thinking is dangerous (oh no!).⚠️

Why? Because it requires self-reflection. It means admitting you might be wrong, that your beliefs might be flawed, that your worldview isn’t a sacred relic but a work in progress. And that’s terrifying, isn’t it?

So instead, we’ve embraced performative ignorance, i.e. not just ignorance, but the active performance of ignorance - pretending not to know because it’s easier than thinking. And this, my friends, is why I’m so FU in life right now (‘Fed Up’ - got it?)

Francis Bacon warned us about this long before the internet arrived to turn idiocy into an interactive sport. In his "Four Idols", he laid out exactly why humans fall into intellectual traps—why we cling to comfortable illusions rather than uncomfortable truths. One of these, the Idols of the Tribe, describes how humans naturally twist reality to fit their biases, seeking patterns where none exist and clinging to emotionally satisfying narratives instead of cold, hard facts. Sound familiar? Scroll through where a lot of twits are  and you’ll find people aggressively rejecting evidence in favour of whatever reinforces their tribal identity. We don’t just avoid critical thinking - we actively fear it, because it threatens our sense of belonging.

And this is everywhere:

1. Social Media - The Ultimate Enabler of Intellectual Laziness.

Why research when you can just re-share a viral post that aligns with your feelings? Nuance is boring. Misinformation is engaging. And outrage is great for engagement metrics.

2. News Media - From Information to Ideology.

News isn’t so much about informing anymore - it’s about reinforcing. Each outlet carefully curates reality to fit its audience’s preferred worldview. Want the world to look a certain way? Just pick your propaganda source.

3. Education - From Critical Thinking to Conformity.

Schools once taught people how to think. Now, in many cases they teach what to think. Challenge the wrong idea, question the wrong narrative, and you’re not just wrong - you’re dangerous.

4. Politics - Debate Replaced by Slogans.

Once upon a time, politics was about competing ideas. Now it’s increasingly about competing identities. Instead of engaging, we just yell slogans at each other and call it discourse. And if someone challenges our beliefs? We double down instead of thinking.

Sponsored Ad:

We turn political opinions into football teams, we treat celebrities as prophets and we replace rigorous debate with moral grandstanding.

Simply put, many rarely think critically anymore because they (we) don’t really have to. We have algorithms that tell us what to believe, influencers to tell us what’s morally acceptable, and tribal affiliations that absolve us of ever needing to engage with reality in any kind of meaningful way.

Counterpoints & Considerations: "But I DO Think Critically!"

Ah, yes. You, dear random blog reader, are different. You engage with multiple sources, you fact-check, you consider opposing views (right?). But let’s be honest, even if you do, how often do you actively seek out ideas that challenge you? How often do you engage with people who genuinely hold opposing views, not just as an exercise, but with the real intention of learning something?

Pah, most of us live in echo chambers whether we admit it or not. We consume content that validates our biases, seek out arguments that reinforce what we already believe, and dismiss dissenting voices as ignorant or malicious or harmful or even ‘offensive’ (Like, FUC, how dare anyone OFFEND anyone else…). Critical thinking isn’t about reading widely; it’s about reading uncomfortably - about wrestling with ideas that unsettle you, challenge you, force you to confront the possibility that you might be wrong.

Congrats if you've made it this far.

So? Well Wake Up or Stay Stupid

That’s the choice a lot of us really have to make.

No, really. That’s the choice. Thinking critically is like flexing a muscle - it takes work, and if you don’t use it, it wilts and withers. You can either continue drifting along in the intellectual stupor that modern society encourages, or you can take responsibility for your own mind. You can stop outsourcing your opinions to algorithms and tribal loyalties. You can start questioning - not just others, but yourself.

Ask yourself: when was the last time you changed your mind about something important?

When was the last time you sought out an argument that made you deeply uncomfortable? When was the last time you prioritised truth over belonging? Oh, and if you’re already at that point, then I fuc’ing applaud you!

Thinking is hard. It’s uncomfortable. But it’s the only thing standing between us and a world where reality is dictated by those with the loudest voices, the most powerful algorithms and most relevant right now – the most money (subtle wink #2) . Are you ready to do the work? Can we all begin to learn to think critically again? Or would you rather double-tap another inspirational quote and call it a day?

If you refuse to think, someone else will do it for you. And trust me - that should scare the hell out of you. The choice is ultimately yours. Just don’t pretend it doesn’t matter.

And if you’re already there, then join me and GetFUCT.

Oh, and farewell for now.

Click already. Like, now.

Want more? Well than, maybe you are who are think you are:

hint: Search engines are your friend.

📖 An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments by Ali Almossawi

This concise guide uses humorous illustrations to explain common logical fallacies, making critical thinking approachable and engaging.

📖The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan

Sagan advocates for scientific skepticism and provides tools to develop critical thinking, emphasising the importance of questioning and evidence-based reasoning.

🔗 global.oup.com Applying Critical Thinking to Modern Media by Lewis Vaughn

Vaughn offers practical advice on analysing contemporary media, helping readers identify biases and improve their media literacy skills.