You have just kicked my grey cell into action. New knowledge can be built on knowledge that has previously been learned. Does reinforcing new ignorance on already existing ignorance work the same way? Might this explain conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers and QAnoners?

@anglophone Oh yes. Though I think that it is not ignorance as such, more anti -education. Fake education builds upon itself, and is designed to do so, perhaps even more than the real thing, since it needs support and reinforcement without the appeal to evidence and logic. Therefore if you are pedalling nonsense you have an even greater need to back it up with more nonsense in support.

What is also interesting though, I often wonder, is is there also a third largely unrecognised area called pseudo-education. Which while it is not false education, it is employed by charlatans to waste time and convince people that they are getting a lot of education, without allowing time for real worthwhile studies like science, maths and history. For example you can go to an ecclesiastical college and spend vast amounts of time in the study of calligraphy, Christian literature or the spelling and history of obscure words, all of which are basically, for all but a few specialists, obsolete skills, and you are then told you have been given a good education. The religions love spelling bees, and craft work classes, etc. and sorry, they are both good and useful, but are they being depolyed as distractions ?

Education should not perhaps just be measured by true and false, but also by worth.

Trypanophobia - a fear of needles. What phobia word expresses a fear of knowledge?

@anglophone Epistemophobia [phobia.wikia.org]. Asked and answered.

@JackPedigo Thanks.

I admit it: I am a closet cannibal.

The usual selfish reasons.