The issue that plagues us is a lack of trust in long-standing societal authorities.
We can't follow the entire scientific proof chain for every piece of information we encounter, because we don't have time.
So we rely on authority to some extent, whether that be peer review, government, independent bodies, etc.
We need to be able to trust that these bodies are telling us the truth and aren't seeking to mislead us. Because when we start to doubt them, we then inevitably elect alternative bodies, simply due to limited thinking capacity/time - as explained above it's impossible to do otherwise, no-one derives from first principles every opinion they hold.
The best way, _overall_, to convince someone to do something, is by clearly explaining to them the positives and negatives and letting them come to their own conclusion.
It doesn't always work, and there are specific situations (e.g. someone is holding a gun to your face) in which the cost/benefit analysis is very different - in such a situation, the short term is all that exists, the long term effect of misplaced trust is irrelevant - you simply have to neutralize them.
But in general, I'm absolutely sure that education over coercion is the correct approach for society.
Because if you force them, sure, you've got a short term win, at the long term cost of trust. What is the long term cost of lost trust?
We can't follow the entire scientific proof chain for every piece of information we encounter, because we don't have time.
So we rely on authority to some extent, whether that be peer review, government, independent bodies, etc.
We need to be able to trust that these bodies are telling us the truth and aren't seeking to mislead us. Because when we start to doubt them, we then inevitably elect alternative bodies, simply due to limited thinking capacity/time - as explained above it's impossible to do otherwise, no-one derives from first principles every opinion they hold.
The best way, _overall_, to convince someone to do something, is by clearly explaining to them the positives and negatives and letting them come to their own conclusion.
It doesn't always work, and there are specific situations (e.g. someone is holding a gun to your face) in which the cost/benefit analysis is very different - in such a situation, the short term is all that exists, the long term effect of misplaced trust is irrelevant - you simply have to neutralize them.
But in general, I'm absolutely sure that education over coercion is the correct approach for society.
Because if you force them, sure, you've got a short term win, at the long term cost of trust. What is the long term cost of lost trust?