The Decline of Critical Thinking and the Cost of Conformity

You often hear things like, “He’s so great and intelligent, but I can’t believe he said that,” or, “She’s so educated, yet there was no thought behind what she said.” This is a common occurrence, especially among those who consider themselves rational or deep thinkers. I’ve noticed it repeatedly: people with impressive qualifications and decades of experience rejecting scientific evidence, even when it’s laid out clearly. Rarely do you hear, “This challenges my worldview, but let me research it independently.” Instead, it’s always a hard rejection. This stems from a lack of scientific thinking or critical thinking. And as time passes, I see that deficiency growing.

Most people mistake being educated for being critical thinkers,  but those two are miles apart. You can memorize and regurgitate what you’ve been taught, yet never develop the ability to question, challenge, or explore ideas independently. True critical thinking means sitting with a problem, dissecting it, forming hypotheses, testing them, and refining your understanding. Few people ever do this. Genuine curiosity is the engine behind such thinking,  and most adults lack it.

Children, however, are naturally curious. They ask endless questions. But as we grow up, society, institutions, and even parents suppress that curiosity. Over time, we stop wondering why. We stop asking what if. We become products of conformity,  absorbing beliefs, norms, and values without question. That’s an entirely different discussion, but first, let’s go back to my own childhood.

As a child, I rarely accepted anything at face value. Whether it was rebellion, trauma, or something innate, I questioned everything my parents and others told me. Of course, I wasn’t consciously practicing critical thinking back then, but something inside me refused to simply agree. Outwardly, I conformed to appear normal. Internally, I was skeptical of everything.

This came with consequences. I wasn’t the typical social kid. I didn’t have many friends or groups. I spent most of my time in solitude, often in front of a computer. My social skills were nearly zero. But what I did develop was the ability to sit with thoughts. Rumination became my escape. At the time, I didn’t realize what I was doing; it’s only now, looking back, that I see I was training my mind to think critically and independently.

When science entered my life, it was like finding a mirror for my mind. The curiosity of why and what if found structure. My childhood habit of observation evolved into early scientific thinking. I spent years quietly collecting mental data. That archive of observation is something I’m deeply proud of. It now serves as the foundation for my mental models,  helping me test hypotheses and understand the world.

In retrospect, it was curiosity that enabled my critical thinking mindset. But it’s also clear that critical thinking isn’t just a trait; it’s a skill anyone can develop. The challenge is that, as adults, our neuroplasticity drops. The only way to reopen that flexibility is through curiosity. As Andrew Huberman often discusses, curiosity is the key to keeping the mind adaptable and capable of learning. Without it, people lose the ability to question, research, and reason scientifically. Instead, they rely on hearsay; “I heard” replaces “I verified.”

That said, being human, I still get infuriated by sheer stupidity. When I see people make absurd decisions despite evidence, I’m through the roof. I keep such people as far from me as possible. Just today, I was on a building roof pulling up a pipe to fill the water tank manually instead of using a motor. As I worked, I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the sheer stupidity around me. Sometimes, you have to conform just to get things done,  and this was one of those moments. But it doesn’t make the situation any less frustrating. Yesterday, someone told me, “Protein is a scam.” That’s just one example. The list is endless.

This brings us back to conformity. Being a nonconformist in a conformist world is extremely challenging. But if you want to evolve, at some point you must take the nonconformist path. That doesn’t mean rejecting everything; that would be foolish. Life works like a pendulum: you swing between conformity and nonconformity. Over time, that pendulum becomes a spiral, gradually moving upward,  evolving through cycles.

The point of nonconformity isn’t rebellion for its own sake. It’s about developing the strength to defend an opposing view. To do that, you need evidence. To find evidence, you must research. And in that pursuit, you develop scientific thinking.

So why explain all this? Because if society continues losing its ability to think critically, we are collectively regressing. I already see that happening. And with the rise of AI, I fear it will worsen. A society without curiosity or critical thought doesn’t progress; it decays. And I, for one, do not want to bring my children into a regressed world.