I think with the reaction to the Ursula K. Quote about women being able to think, not just feel blindly, fits nicely into the anti intellectualism we are seeing and peoples commitment to staying in the kiddie pool. Like at a certain point you can’t vibes your way out of stuff, you gotta pick up books and a news paper and get informed and start exercising your brain.
I tell my students a lot that things like media literacy and critical thinking are skills, not personality traits. No one is inherently good or bad at them; some people just have more practice (and maybe had better teachers and/or learning experiences) than others, but not possessing those skills don’t make you an inherently bad person, any more than not being able to ride a bike makes you a bad person. And, importantly, they can always be learned and improved, even if you feel like it’s “too late” to start.
Entering discussions that assume a certain level of skill among the participants and getting angry that it does not immediately cater to your skill level is a personality trait, though. Not all spaces are or have to be beginner-friendly. If you’re heading into (for example) political or academic conversations and your only source of information is tweets and soundbites, not only are you not going to have a good time, but adjusting the conversation to your level is actively detrimental to the original goals of the conversation.
You’ve got to practice. Put yourself out there. Make mistakes. Don’t get angry at people when they point out your mistakes. That’s how we get better at anything.
