i think it is just much too common for people to have no like.. ability to think on their own, either it's like they need someone to tell them something to realize it, or then they can't think beyond what they've been told like to think about it critically
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They want a thought-leader to tell them what to do instead of doing any of their own mental work to develop their own powers of analysis.
They just want someone to give them all the Answers, so they can be spared the effort of Thinking, which they Look Down On as a miserable activity.
Their discernment amounts to “well x said y and I trust them bc they seem smart/well-intentioned/talented/they’re my friend!”
or even just because that person is always saying what they want to hear. No ability to discern or check for valid logic.
The typical mental wiring you find in members of cults.
or they’ll claim to have PLENTY of “critical thinking” ability! But you find what they THINK of as c.t. is not c.t. at all.