Now We Know Who's Nuts

The people ruining the planet are, it turns out, just as nuts as we thought. Perhaps not absolutely necessary, but nice to have some empirical confirmation. Exhibit "A" is research reported the other day in the Los Angeles Times, showing that liberals and conservatives have two different, seemingly hardwired, cognitive styles. To paraphrase: liberals are able to think critically while conservatives are not. Exhibit "B" is a different sort of psychological analysis very much in line with the above — research undertaken over forty years by Dr. Robert Altemeyer at the University of Manitoba (an inspiration for much of John Dean's current writing), which shows that perhaps up to 25% of the population is made up of 'authoritarian followers' impervious to rational argument. Bob's work is first-rate, central to our understanding of our predicament. He'll be my guest on the EP podcast the show of September 28th, but before then I commend to you the free e-book (pdf) he wrote in 2006, putting his findings in context for the general public.