Producers' Pick | Dr. Todd Rose: Collective Illusions

The more you listen more, you'll know it's Brian kill me and I would just be happy if we never adopted them again. It was clear the lock to protect anyone's only a certain class of people the rest of us. Many of us could afford to lock down the ice that was in the classic could afford what most people United States were in the class. They had to work all essential worker that they got exposed Friday got sick and died. Anyways, the lockdowns were never going to protect the most vulnerable people were the elderly and some of the and and other subjects with severe disease only lock down the whole country, as did many countries and now we find out, and we knew within Johns Hopkins revealed the study that we were only .02% safer in the lockdowns related to mental illness that was accompanied at their livelihoods. It would destroy the domestic disputes that took place the divorces that took root to the careers that were basically eliminated.

They never made sense Denmark and the UK have sobered up. Sweden never tried it wide and wins the US going to do it. I hope it is now that all plays into the theme of Dr. Todd Rose, cofounder of the think I populist, former director, the mind, brain and education program at Harvard, author of a brand-new book collective allusions conformity complicity in the science of why we made why we make bad decisions.

Dr. Rose welcome.1st off, what about this topic and study not to get into detail on it but lockdowns didn't work don't work yet look. Early on, and I think we were all trying your best. At this point. A lot of good things were doing are largely about following what we think are groups wanted to do rather than following the actual science emerged from the pandemic and pandemic to smarten up a bit and really rely on the evidence which is groupthink and you find it. Groupthink is a problem.

It's pretty clear to everybody in the country right now. We got a big problem. Groupthink what what I try to cover in my book that collective allusions are special kind of groupthink.

We all want to be with our group and so we are wired to conform. But you know what your group really thinks will be found in place after place in America to make it work spectacularly wrong about what are groups really believed the results were conforming to a phantom and become something where the entire group as of doing something that almost nobody really wanted except for vocal fringe so you give an example in your book of segregation segregation you say was perpetuated for decades longer. The American South because of the collective allusion of whites believing other whites opposed it. When a majority supported it privately. When you expand on that yeah work around hundred years. A good example of how this reading are groups are in groups and lead us to hold back social partner so Hubert O'Gorman had been studying private attitude of white people in the South around integration and were in favor of it, but they were absolutely convinced that most white people still want segregation and so they didn't dare to speak up because they didn't want to go get their groups argued that it held back racial integration by about a decade and we still paying the price that you could say that took radical change in the radical teens. More people are comfortable with so wanted on a daily basis. What else he discovered that were doing you say for example that humans just make bad decisions look what I got decisions you want to conform to your group as you want to belong more than your honor student got up to you.

It becomes a really bad decision when you're conformity to a social life right where your group doesn't even want your behavior. You're conformity you write mental health aspect of self-esteem aspect of going get your own values to grant because your behavior is trying to everybody else that we all want something that nobody really walked in America today and almost all aspects of our lives. For example, for me, anything that matters the coin toss. Whether you're wrong about the group right now, but the one most important to me, which is good time to research the largest study ever of what Americans walked in the future the country people before getting this private instrument will be divided 82%. Of course were divided and have to go. People said we are extremely divided yet we keep you thousands of people across all walks of life instrument.

What emerges is shocking. Common ground about her aspirations for America surprised to learn that we all walked across all demographics are nothing short of core values like for example like across all demographics. People still care about individual rights.

It just seemed like it. We want a fair shot at the American dream, and we recognize we owe each other to make that dream possible. Like healthcare, a good education system Monarch everything is what what we all don't walk. We don't want top-down control were sick of the federal government telling community.

The individual and this could be extremely valuable for any politician if they for you to sing. In fact, it's hard to imagine that if if what you're saying is true then and they agreed to it. They would be doing the things are doing right now, but I think that the problem here that our brains are actually really bad at reading. The majority because the shortcut your brain uses the loudest voices repeated the most often majority the problem, especially with social media.

80% of content on twitter is generated by 10% of users. People are not even remotely represented America but think about if you think 10% golden opinion percent will look what happened.

I don't want to go against the group were seen today. Right. Two thirds of Americans report that they fell silent on things that matter to them to your point politician right now you got a recognized your brain is misleading you jerk your friends on your own party. Seems like it how the phonograph of majority did not come back and look at what we know about American vendor values for their lives for each other from the country. There is so much common ground and not radical if it is core American values. You will say that out loud you will be shocked at the consent that you find there. So Todd would you say that this is a new phenomenon because of the advent of social media that if I was talking to in the 70s you might have different you would have to tell everybody that they agree on all the stuff we know that collective allusions for quite a while the first research on hundred years ago, but your point up until social media. They were pretty bright right you could probably count on to hand the number really matter but with social media. With the ability for vocal fringe, a small minority of people the impression that a lot of people agree with them.

Our brains are designed and so we gotta recognize that it should be on social media that we gotta realize it is a fun house of mirrors. We cannot let that distortion affect how we treat each other in real life side we attack this if you can identify the problem effectively and you do in your book collective allusions doing limited to just recognize a how do we attack it, change straightforward answer here and it's not rocket science even though it still can be difficult fell silent because of all collective allusions solving the problem means we gotta have the moral courage to be honest about her own views of each other for the courage to make it safe for others to do the same. What we believe in the core American values right self-expression and respect for differences, we gotta live up to those right now we do. I promise you will come out of this cultural tailspin to get back to it higher level of social trust will reveal our shared values and we can start with some of the problems really do have a Fox News contributor transom.com daily newsletter inviting you to join a conversation every week is to bend on its podcast listen no Fox News contests.com but it's interesting.

So when you approach this book.

I knew you believe that you been studying how do you how do you would you hope people take away from it. Don't go to Harvard that don't necessarily get into the political field or care much about political opinion, but they care about the country right we don't talk to people we need to talk to each other. Here's what I would say right now most people are sitting back and feeling like some crazy rest of the country go crazy. Almost overnight, living in a foreign country, even though it seems like it's true.

It's not the person you just got to recognize that collectively to the real mayor checking your brain into believing something that is not correct.

Being feels like we have no power. That is not true because it is the people that are holding you the illusion which means it's me.

The people that can do something about it and get back to that having the courage to share your honest opinions right it doesn't offend people. People want to hear from you and making space for other people to do the same. So you're saying speak up, you say well when it comes to Thanksgiving. Keep your opinions to yourself. If you see a stranger and you don't agree with them. You better off just keeping quiet and I might hurt my career by speaking up. Are you encouraging people in the right situation to start speaking up. There certainly people who are feeling the pressure Culture like that. There's too many economic, or social sanction. I get some specific strategies that can use silent but here's the thing in our own private opinion research we found that the overwhelming majority of Americans say that they are self silent and not because of counterculture. I just don't want to hurt other people's feelings or cause conflict to those people I am saying like you think that people are overly sensitive but direction they actually don't feel that we need to think by not speaking up by self silencing you were giving the impression that the majority belief something that the majority does not believe there is a way to stick your mind without being disagreeable right thing I'll say about the one of the biggest collectively today that the overwhelming majority of Americans across all demographics prioritized wanting to treat one another with respect regardless of our differences but they are convinced they are in the minority.

Most Americans no longer care about respectful disagreement is so I'll give you an example, read two bags say I'm reading two books the same time Ben course got a book about growing up in the South and being black, mostly white schools. Booker T. Washington actually grew up a slave, he was nine years old when he got his freedom back in the late 1880s into the earliest 20th century. In both site different times in which racism is so flagrant with both would pass to go that they're ignorant but I'm moving on up there ignorant but I moved on.

Ben Carson threatened don't play on the football team. We don't want blankets on the football team. Don't go to school.

We don't want black kids that he doesn't go to school anyway and he started meeting more more people that did except it didn't focus on people that didn't because he realized they were the minority and a lot of times they were just ignorant. They had no idea they had no wife experienced to act any differently and I didn't watch the sky become a brain surgeon. Booker T. Washington become an advisor to the present United States and yet other people in minority situations in life is built me a bad hand. It's not easy being Spanish. Not easy being black. I can't get anywhere. Those two realities you much better off in to order for happiness to be the Ben Carson Booker T. Washington, but none of them are necessarily wrong, correct my individual help me to blame anybody else. I we need to look at course.

Of course, discrimination is real and we want a country where every single individual, regardless of their background have a fair shot at success. Fair shot American dreams where the way forward is not to group agreement not… Leads to destruction is to solve the unfairness and injustice in through our values.

Those timeless American value that were there from the beginning. We've never been perfect, but we have always committed to a more perfect union called today and I promise you. Those are the shared values of the vast majority Americans. All demographics that I find it fascinating and heartening that you know the grievance is not going to work.

Complaining is not to be effective got in the mindset of solving what's good how do I fix the bad and that and that indeed, instead of picking sides. I want to bring you to the turns out like the absurd rose off people you never thought would be thrown off. For example, I listen to Bill Moore for the first time of the last six months because his monologues could be like Tucker Carlson's monologues. I can't believe a similar they are. Yet they said they they would vote for different people and 99.9% of elections listen to Lisette on Friday.

Normal people read that San Francisco has basically legalized shoplifting. They think Democrats have gone nuts they think you know that Tim grows cruise guy seems like a real status, but at least he believes in the concept of shopping with money of FDR and JFK is turning into the party of LOL and WTF any any goes on to say, abolish, rent, abolish mortgages don't pay off your student loans will as I come from, so he will get this insane please don't tell me this is where the country's going you're trying to tell through this book. It's not not want to recognize that it is a real phenomenon why our brain think that this is what the majority walked the book of friend you could see the look on the left. There's a lot of losing to go around, but that same from the police in response to a real moral problem of like a vocal for anything we should've published the police. It sure felt like on the left majority opinion of course shattered really quickly when the critical book majority people in Minneapolis say no thank you also want to let me be clear is really important that moral courage that I talked about his mother to speak to the illusion that the other side is falling for our greatest powers of the visual is to speak up in our own group right like we know on the right.

There are there are illusion that were under literature around addressing climate change, or frankly even the 2020 election and we need to be honest about those things because got consequences of not being honest are so damaging that the major point is a great book so appropriate for now collective allusions conformity complicity in the science of why we make bad decisions. Dr. Todd Rose thank you thank you thank Fox News contests network subscribe and listen to the trade only federal prosecutor and four term US Congressman from South Carolina brings you a one-of-a-kind punch list.com