I think this is correct.
I’d also add that it’s a very different stance to go from thinking one aspect of ‘stuff you’re supposed to believe’ is off, and ‘shit, maybe I need to have a deep think about all of it.’
To not trust TheScience(TM) requires the kind of mindset that allows you to admit you were wrong about something.
If there is one lesson covid should teach most people, aside from general skepticism, it’s that almost nobody is capable of admitting they were wrong about so much stuff. It seems to really hit something deep in us.
I say this as a scientist (sorry…) I hope I’ve always been one of the honest and skeptical ones but I will admit that I had preconceptions I hadn’t tested. I’m trying very hard now to think differently. A daft example, but
@High-Fructose Corn Syrup asserts that corn syrup is ok, and my inner previous otterly is screaming SYRUP BAD but I’m willing to look at the evidence. And actually, the evidence is a bit contradictory. That kind of thing.
It genuinely is harder to get people to admit they were fooled than it is to fool them. And when you’re aligned with an SJW type group like radfems you’re effectively in a cult, and cults don’t take kindly to beliefs being questioned. I think
you have to be a bit of an outsider to really be critical.