Because, people in general are stupid. Sure, we all do stupid things, but it's the people that do stupid things on an everyday basis, that bothers me. And even worse than that, are the people that know what they're doing is stupid, but don't care, because whatever they're doing is fun, or pleasing in some way or another. Obviously the famous statement, "ignorance is bliss" couldn't be more right. It may be a hackneyed statement, but it's a good one never the less. I think that's why it seems that people reject reason..

I think it's an overall desire for easy answers. If you've ever worked in retail, you know that a lot of people are always looking for something they can get for nothing. Not having to reason requires no effort so any answers one can get without it are popular. Laziness is, unfortunately rampant. Sorry for the lame answer, truth is I've been wanting to tell you, your avatar is very cool! It's my favorite so far!

Maybe you're just noticing it more. At least, I think that's the case with me. I mean, you say "the past few years," but to you intend that to include the Dark Ages? ;-) I think the phenomenon of which you speak is, sadly, neither recent nor transient.

I think that Odzihozo has a very valid point. I would like to address another dynamic - globalization. In the sense of cultures mixing and coming into contact with each other, the world is getting smaller. I talk with people all over the planet instantaneously every day. People's cultural values, norms, and prejudices are called into question constantly. Accepted truths are challenged. We often do not know why we do things the way we do. We learn habits from infancy, and these become subconcious routines that we do not question. They are reinforced as we grow up in our families. We have accepted these things as "true". When we see something that doesn't mesh with them, we feel under attack. Our sense of reality is questioned. If we cannot back up our beliefs, norms, and values with reason and logic, we resort to superstitious reasons (the word of God, Divine Law, etc) in order to defend ourselves. This is a normal defense mechanism, and certainly much easier and more comfortable than introspection and analysis.

as a people we have a natural tendency to rebel. thus, you might see someone in my generation (i'm 16) rebelling and screwing conformity. but if you think about it in the past a lot of people were extremely religious and all religion is based on superstition.

People are comforted by tradition, new things are scary and wrong even if there is every bit of proof.

People are stupid beings. We should all follow the Common-Sense Laws. They are laws of COMMON SENSE!!!

most people do not have the critical tools to recognize what the media and other forms of mass communication put before them. i disagree with the comments that claim that people are essentially stupid. there is a gentrification of art that reduces the quality and variety of different art forms such as music, television, movies, and literature. this makes the bulk of the media product that the masses receive bland to put it euphemistically. most mass media forms are motivated by profit and not high ideals, this creates a self-sustaining machine that cranks out dumbness. beneath this veil there is plenty of insight to be found but it takes time and patience, self-awareness and sometimes pain to get there. most people (especially in the u.s. where we work most of our lives away) don't have the time to work toward self-actualization which is perhaps the most common form of human intelligence we can all attain. every human being has the potential to reach levels of insight and reason that they never thought to achieve. i have seen the most ignorant person transfixed by his own true nature, and changed into the most patient and wise of people. it is possible but it takes time and patience, a premium that people would rather spend masturbating their own egos or pissing their precious life's moments away on routine.

I'm guessing you are from America right? Major corporations take on the characteristics of their leader so maybe the same could be said about countries. So some people in the U.S.A are taking on characteristics of there leader, George W Bush. Bush is a known Christian, USA is the only Western country where religion is on the rise. So maybe they are taking on other characteristics as well? Rejecting wisdom and intelligence. Traits Bush has not been known for. I don't believe individuals are stupid, Americans included, by no means am I saying all Americans are stupid, but get a large enough group of people and we become pretty thick

Fear. People are reacting out of fear, and as mentioned, they are too lazy to investigate the causes of their fears. They see the worsening conditions of the world around them, so they cling to superstitions as if they were baby blankets.

It's easier and more convenient to shrug off challenges by assigning them to supernatural phenomena. Once our problems are in the control of supernatural beings, there is nothing humans can do about it, nothing is required of us and our challenge effectively disappears. Contributing to this abrogation of responsibility is our system of public education in which we are spoon-fed and not allowed to think or reason for ourselves, and in fact are discouraged from doing so. If humans are more likely NOW than in the past to reject wisdom, intelligence and reason, I think the expansion of public education has a great deal to do with it.

Wisdom, intelligence, and reason take effort. Why think when you can have some charismatic person on the TV tell you the fundamental 'truths' about everything and get told all the 'facts' you'll ever need? Look at cars for the signs of our laziness. We can't shift or use a clutch; many cars don't even offer a stick any more. We can't roll down the windows ourselves; they are powered. We can't even be bothered to turn the headlights on/off; they are automatic. And now rain-sensing wipers? As a result of this laziness, our driving skills have arophied. Extend this to the rest of our lives....

Well I think the question is a bit to broad, but you are pointing at something that's real. My theory is that it's a reaction to post-modernism. Modernism was largely dominated by the notion that science was going save us, now that this appears unlikely there's a fair amount of anti-science feeling, especially in the U.S. (where science education lags behind much of the rest of the developed world). Because science is founded on logic, math, and experimental observation, the veracity of these foundations are also in doubt by many. But the most important problem is that the failure of science to provide the "big" solutions to life's problems has left a vacuum -- a vague semi-conscious anxiety that borders on nihilism: what exactly is the basis for our values, how will we move into the future without any compass? This is what worries us. Lacking some solid basis for answering those questions, there's a strong trend toward fundamentalism -- running back to the apparent safety of old-time religion and old-time philosophies. These perspectives are naturally hostile to science, whose adherents tend to see it as a value-free province of atheists and nihilists. So in short, fear of emptiness, fear of meaninglessness -- or my preferred term "fear of groundlessness" is what's driving the phenomenon. The irony is that groundlessness is actually a profound opportunity: an opportunity to create, to take responsibility, and to move forward into uncharted territory with courage and self-direction. It's the opportunity for mankind to take on the challenge of fulfilling it's potential: on the blank canvas that the future always has been -- the canvas we rarely notice -- unencumbered by superstition, we can draw our own road. The question is whether we can let go of the past sufficiently to realize this. As dark as the current times may seem to be, I don't know that any of us can see the whole picture -- the jury is out on that.

Impossible question to answer. You have not brought up even one example.