Beyond Gender - Episode 1: Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things
Gurwinder Bhogal is a writer and cultural commentator known for his sharp take on misinformation, identity politics, and how narratives shape society. He's also one of our favorite Substack bloggers, best known for his article, "Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things," which was adapted into an animated story by After Skool. In this episode, we take a deep dive into why intelligence can actually make people more susceptible to self-delusion, how social media fuels tribalism, and why academia and media incentivize misinformation.
From his unique journey from tech analyst to cultural commentator, through to his insights on human psychology and modern activism, Gurwinder shares how our cognitive biases shape today's cultural landscape.
Gurwinder's Journey: From Tech Analysis to Cultural Understanding
Originally working at Microsoft as a behavioral analyst studying how people use the internet, Gurwinder's journey took an unexpected turn when his interest shifted from technological bugs to examining the "bugs in human psychology." As a former web developer who has studied both information systems and extremist ideologies, he brings a unique perspective to understanding how technology and psychology intersect to shape beliefs. Through his writing on his Substack The Prism, he works to unweave popular narratives into their constituent elements, revealing the delusions, biases, and agendas that drive today's most compelling stories—including the ones we tell ourselves. His work focuses particularly on how technology and psychology conspire to fool us, and how we can withstand what he calls "the covert assault on our senses" in the digital age.
Intelligence and Self-Deception
Expanding on themes from his viral article "Why Smart People Believe Stupid Things," Gurwinder explores Dan Kahan's research on "identity protective cognition," explaining how reason evolved not to find truth, but to convince others we're right. He demonstrates this through how academic stances on male/female brain differences shifted dramatically - from forbidding any discussion of brain differences as misogynistic to actively promoting these differences to support gender ideology. This effortless pivot, he argues, shows how intelligence can actually make people more capable of convincing themselves of what they want to believe.
The Social Media Effect
Gurwinder explains how our tribal psychology, evolved for tight-knit hunter-gatherer groups, creates unprecedented challenges in today's hyperconnected world. Drawing from his experience in tech, he describes how we're struggling with information overload in an environment we never evolved to handle, leading to what he calls "apophenia" - our tendency to see patterns in meaningless noise. This pattern-seeking in our high-information environment produces what he terms "Dramageddon" - where people on social media become convinced society is collapsing while reality remains peaceful. He references Scott Alexander's "Toxoplasma of Rage" concept to explain why the most divisive ideas spread fastest online: opposing groups share controversial content to defend their positions, inadvertently amplifying the very things they're arguing against.
Academic Incentives and Truth
Through his analysis of institutional incentives, Gurwinder reveals how modern academia has shifted away from truth-seeking toward a system where success is measured not by accuracy but by H-index scores and media attention. This creates a perverse incentive structure where researchers are rewarded for dramatic claims rather than careful investigation, leading to a replication crisis where most published findings cannot be reproduced when tested again. The problem is compounded by widespread "P-hacking" (statistical manipulation) and media coverage that favors sensational claims over nuanced findings, resulting in a system that, ironically, makes highly educated people more susceptible to sophisticated forms of self-deception.
The Rise of Neotoddlerism
Gurwinder discusses his article "The Rise of Neotoddlerism," which examines how modern activism often resembles toddler behavior - using shocking stunts and outrage to gain attention rather than create meaningful change. He defines neo-toddlerism as "the belief that you can create utopia by acting like a three-year-old." Instead of forging good arguments or creating effective protest movements with clear leadership, activists resort to stunts designed purely to shock and outrage - from throwing paint on paintings and releasing cockroaches into buildings. These tactics prioritize viral moments over substantive dialogue, mirroring how toddlers make scenes to get attention.
The Pathologization of Normal Life
Drawing on Ivan Illich's concept of "medicalization," Gurwinder explores how social media accelerates the tendency to categorize normal behaviors as disorders. This connects to broader discussions about external vs. internal "locus of control" and how different political orientations approach personal responsibility.
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Substack: gurwinder.substack.com
Twitter: @G_S_Bhogal
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