Why Cynicism is Poison

In this excerpt from the video, "How Joe Rogan Was Fooled by Graham Hancock," Dr. Miano reacts to some comments made by Hancock and how he thinks he helps young men.

►LEAVE A COMMENT
We would love to hear your thoughts about the video.
Please be civil to the other commenters.
If your comment does not appear, try again with different words. YouTube sometimes glitches and comments don't go through. Or they might flag your comment as potentially inappropriate.

►DOWNLOAD Professor Miano's free e-booklet: "Why Ancient History Matters":

► SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL

►PURCHASE Professor Miano's handy guide for learning, "How to Know Stuff":

Follow Professor Miano on social media:

[sael]

I think you've presented a useful distinction here between healthy skepticism and debilitating cynicism.

[khimaera]

I remember reading one of Hancock's books back in the late 70s and thinking it was superficial rubbish. Nothing since has changed my mind.

[itsnot_stupid_ifitworks]

He's riding the wave of anti intellectualism grift that Rogan has massively amplified.

[KesselRunner]

When you dismiss objective evidence that demonstrates you are wrong and claim it's all a "giant conspiracy to silence the truth, " you do not have an open mind. You're locked up tight in your own little world.

[stephenphillips]

Hancock is history for people who don't like history. He's a conspiracy theorist and his audiences want their prejudices confirmed, not challenged.

[DanSk]

Thing is, I can say the same thing about this channel.
It started with underwater cities that I HAD been misinformed about.
I have no problem saying, this channel has saved me from going with the myths and half truths to the reality of history.
That is also way more interesting to see how resilient and ingenious our ancestors were.

[Ducks]

Graham’s books are fun, but only as real as the National Treasure movies. In another lifetime he could be a beloved, goofy, imaginative fictional story teller. I don’t know why he goes for a bad boy persona so hard. He can’t back any of it up.

[cacophonic]

I will admit to having read both Fingerprints and Magicians of the Gods, and believe it or not, I enjoyed them quite a lot! However, I didn't come away from them feeling a cynical distrust of all the foundations that came before. I more felt "Hmm, that was interesting, I wonder what the rest of the world says about it..." and it led me to channels like this one. It just seems obvious to me that you shouldn't just believe what you hear or read about at face value.

It is always a red flag when a person is constantly smearing "The Establishment" as being out to get them. That's not to say that that doesn't happen, but when it happens at nearly every interview you give, and you mention it in so many of your books ... it starts to feel like the Author who cried wolf.

[brennonbrunet]

I believe that it is less a matter of “ NOW I don’t have to listen to people more knowledgeable than me” and more so a matter of “ phew! Now I can justify not having listened to people who are more knowledgeable than me all along, because THEY were lying to me about everything “.

[penzman]

Peter the Great, Vlad the Impaler, Eric the Red, Hancock the Polluter.

[nebulan]

Saying the quiet part outloud Hancock? "This is a gateway conspiracy."

[RabidCupcake]

Skepticism is important. I would argue it's CRUCIAL to being an intelligent adult. However, what Joe Rogan and Graham Hancock promote is not skepticism, because they instinctively reject anything that comes from the "establishment", and then they accept without question anything which claims to be a viewpoint that's been suppressed by the "establishment". Selective skepticism is no skepticism at all.

[onbedoeldekut]

I'm quite grateful for having started my historical/archaeological journey by reading his books, they inspired me to delve into the actual history presented by academical institutions such as the OI, ACOR Jordan, among others around the world/net, which opened my eyes to Hancock's now cringeworthy hypotheses.

[krisamico]

Graham is the perfect historian for a post-truth world

[valritz]

As someone who went to a school where "postmodernism" was this nebulous boogeyman on par with "critical race theory" and "DEI, " I do have to square up a LITTLE on this. Yes, absolutely, done without rigor, postmodern thought can devolve into fatalistic apathy. The "nothing is real, nothing is true, nothing matters" spiral is definitely a whirlpool you've got to avoid.

But I also owe a lot to postmodernism, provided it's done in the spirit of taking things apart to see how they work, and reconstructing what actually does. One of my favorite things about coursework I did in rhetoric is getting to take apart why we interact with each other in the way that we do, examine it, understand it, and look at other people with a better understanding of why they employ the discursive strategies they do.

[crawdadnc]

There's a difference between the lies told by people with a grift and the uncertainty and disagreement that naturally come studying the past. Also confusion with the over simplified headline versions of things and the actual reports that require more time and attention than most outlets allow.

[UNUSUALUSERNAME]

"I'm not a pessimist, I'm a well informed optimist." Will Rogers

[mathewherges]

💯 - I can now hear this on both sides of many arguments. Your perspective and methods of presenting counter points to pseudo historians has taught me things that I don't often fully remember, but IMO the more important lesson of how to listen and understand how to determine reason based versus belief-based arguments. Thanks David!

[Ano-Nymous]

Thank you, David, once more!
I'm not for cencorship at all, but being aware of the amount of absolute crap that is out there on the internet I sometimes wish it would require a little bit more than just a webcam and an internet connection to share stupidity (often on purpose). Some people just do not feel akward or ashamed anymore. Adding in the human factor and the passion for controversy, myth, drama and conflict, might explain why spreading stupidity is simply some people's only business model. Havin a laugh as part of the good old public shaming ceremony still seems to be the best to get out of it.

[havadatequila]

Cults are full of people who don't trust anyone.