This is not a political post, but if we are going to talk about confident ignorance, we have to start with the best example available: the oh-so-public statements of Donald Trump. Trump was visiting California, touring the burn sites from the recent fires that have swept through some Los Angeles neighborhoods. Afterwards there was a televised confab with Trump and a dozen or so local officials, including firefighting personnel. These are uninformed and misguided ideas, but that has never stopped Trump from opining on any subject.
Injecting bleach as a cure for Covid is another shining example of Trumpian ignorance. Thinking higher tariffs and trade wars are good for America is another example. The list is endless. Some people who understand they are uninformed on a subject are willing to listen to experts or even a better-informed friend or neighbor.
But some people are simply unwilling to acknowledge they need good advice or an expert opinion. They think they know it all. They are confidently ignorant. What about the LDS Church. They give no credit to experts in a variety of fields related to LDS doctrine and practice. Where did Native Americans come from? LDS leaders and apologists steadfastly resisted these findings for generations, and only recently have acknowledged well, okay, maybe only some of their ancestors were Israelites or, for the Jaredites, other Old World groups, but still doing ocean voyages in primitive boats across thousands of miles of open ocean.
How about coffee? Coffee can have both positive and negative health effects. Drinking coffee in moderation can be part of a healthy diet. However, drinking too much coffee or adding too many extras can cause negative health effects. The Mormon habit of drinking a half gallon of Diet Coke before noon rather than a morning cup of coffee almost certainly induces negative health effects.
Diet drinks have been linked to weight gain, for example. A fair percentage of younger LDS, apparently concluding the LDS coffee ban is both wrongheaded and silly, now feel fine having a cup whenever they are so inclined. I remember reading the transcript of the Tom Phillips interview on Mormon Stories. Second anointing stuff aside, the thing I found most curious about that interview was the scriptural literalism from Tom and others around him.
