Ridiculous notions

In this recent post Bret bemoans the gullibility of many people. In earlier posts I commented upon the problem of ignorance especially in the realm of social science such as political economy. We are all limited by our beliefs and knowledge and our willingness to put forth efforts to alter and extend such. In light of these observations, this Julian Simon quote displayed at the FreedomKeys website, caught my attention.

"All of us necessarily hold many casual opinions that are ludicrously wrong simply because life is far too short for us to think through even a small fraction of the topics that we come across." -- Julian Simon

In my experience, neither intelligence nor formal education provide innoculation against this condition. We are all at risk of being trapped by things we parrot without understanding or beliefs, false premises or "facts" we use to construct a worldview. Very few people seem willing to put forth the effort required to chip away at their own ignorance.