I am greatly amused at the mental image of someone putting on the glasses and going, "Welp, I guess that's why everyone's doing this. I guess we should do exactly what they say so we'll fit into society."
However, there are a lot of things we select on the basis of the collective experience of others.
If you have ever used YELP or similar services you have put on your glasses, looked something up, and made a judgment based on the consensus testimony of average Joes.
If you have ever listened to a band because of popular buzz, you have taken a cue from society.
What I've learned about heroin, I have learned from other people. What I have learned from those who have used it has convinced me that I don't want to try it. I don't need to experience it for myself.
There are films that I have taken an interest in because they've generated public interest. When a film is popular enough to have lines going around the block, that is a promising sign that you will, at least, be entertained by it. It's no guarantee, but it is information which allows you to make a presumptive guess.
I am all for fitting into society, because it connects me with the life experience of millions of other souls. The average person may not be that smart, but in the aggregate, the "wisdom of the crowds" can empirically perform quite well as expert systems. There is a certain Aristotle who once said, "it is possible that the many, though not individually good men, yet when they come together may be better, not individually but collectively, than those who are so, just as public dinners to which many contribute are better than those supplied at one man's cost". The average Joe knows what it is like to to love, to lose, to live. I don't have to walk these roads alone, because I fit into a pattern of life which connects me with a great sea of experience which is a great comfort and a considerable aid.
Last edited by Corax; 07-19-23 at 04:04 PM.