Maybe my hopes for the average citizen was too high
Yes, probably.
The NPC meme is about people lacking an "inner monologue" or the ability to visualise images in their "mind's eye".
The Triune ("3-part") Brain model is a bit dated and overly simplistic, but still handy to explain things.
The "Human Brain" (Prefrontal Cortex) is what does inner dialogue. Meme NPCs "lack this".
The "Mammal Brain" (Limbic System) has emotions and stores/fetches memories.
The "Lizard Brain" (Brain Stem & Cerebellum) runs basic functions like breathing, heartbeat, running, hand-eye coordination.
These 3 parts are almost like 3 different people living in your skull. Have you ever "zoned out" while driving home? Your "Human Brain" wasn't doing the driving. "Mammal Brain" managed it with habit and memory, and directed "Lizard Brain" to do the driving.
There are people who spend most of their time in this "zoned out" mode with their "Mammal Brain" in charge. It is possible they perceive the "Mammal Brain" to be their source of "self" and treat the "Human Brain" as something akin to how we treat a cellphone. Like an external source of knowledge and a planning tool.
These "NPC" "Mammal Brain" people think and come to conclusions using primarily memory and emotions. Asking them to be rational or methodical is similar to asking them to write a research paper (a tedious and arduous task). Effortposting is a "Human Brain" activity. Sperging 800 words of emotions is a "Mammal Brain" attempting to effortpost.
Half of the US is incapable of reading and understanding George Orwell's
Nineteen Eighty-Four because it requires a 9th-10th grade reading level.
The KiwiFarms barrier to entry (sign up process, learning the thumbnail feature, etc) means most people posting here are 100 IQ and above. Even the trashcan level posters are smarter than half of humans.
Even soy infused Reddit is "smart". TikTok has more <100IQ posters, but they struggle to rank well in the algorithm.
When people blurt out illogical unverified nonsense it is because that is their normal mode of thinking. Emotions mixed with whatever memories or concepts that surface.
"What do you think about Trumps 'no tax on tips'"
{Trump = Orange Clown; deep state stifles him}
{Government never does anything good}
>
"That only applies to 80+ hours"
