[Boomer]

Actually, it is not about the raw intelligence of the pseudo-patriotic anti-maskers. It’s about neuroscience.

When the thinking part of the brain is completely run over by the emotional part of the brain (the amygdala), what we see that looks like a lack of intelligence is not that at all. It’s the result of having emotions — fear, paranoia, hate, urgency, a need to belong to something bigger, a sense of superiority — all being pounded to a frenzied pitch until logic is washed out completely.

That’s how scammers work. That’s how cult leaders work. They understand how to get to the emotional part of the brain. That’s how those con men and con women work their marks, their victims. Remember, con man is short for “confidence man.” Not only does a confidence man appear confident, the confidence man makes his victim feel confident, too, and then takes power over the victim’s decisions.

And if you have ever tried to convince someone they are being conned, it is impossible because their brains are awash in emotion — no matter how high their IQ. Logic is gone and they will excuse and cling tight to the con. They just cannot see what is happening.

There is no IQ range in it at all. In fact, sometimes the more intelligent are the easiest to con because they think they cannot be.

Fascinating and oh so creepy — and so damned easy to do.

Boomer