Why Stephen Hawking can't get the Donald Trump phenomenon
Its simple why Stephen can't get his head around the Donald. He's a physicist. He may understand the laws of the universe, but has no clue when it comes to laws of human behaviour. Plus the liberal he is, its understandable why he doesn't want to exercise his mind on anything that may not agree with what he's made up his mind on.
Its easy to understand Donald Trump's rise if you can open your mind to research that shows people identify with those that 'speak' and 'stand' for them. Its the way people associate with celebrities. Theory tells us celebrity appeal flows from the 'stars' being 'attractive', 'credible', or 'powerful'. Attractiveness leads to association, credibility prompts internalisation, and power ensures compliance.
In the case of the Donald, I bet all three are happening. His supporters identify with him 'cos he stands tall and courageous in the face of liberal onslaughts, see his message of the wall and strong borders as credible and so internalise it, and finally see him as a powerful businessman on the wrong side of Washington, and so comply to his calls. Now whether that's good or bad is another topic of discussion. For now it would be well for Hawking to understand human behaviour so he isn't left tearing his hair out wondering why the Donald's on the rise.
Will Hawking make the effort to understand? Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!
Its easy to understand Donald Trump's rise if you can open your mind to research that shows people identify with those that 'speak' and 'stand' for them. Its the way people associate with celebrities. Theory tells us celebrity appeal flows from the 'stars' being 'attractive', 'credible', or 'powerful'. Attractiveness leads to association, credibility prompts internalisation, and power ensures compliance.
In the case of the Donald, I bet all three are happening. His supporters identify with him 'cos he stands tall and courageous in the face of liberal onslaughts, see his message of the wall and strong borders as credible and so internalise it, and finally see him as a powerful businessman on the wrong side of Washington, and so comply to his calls. Now whether that's good or bad is another topic of discussion. For now it would be well for Hawking to understand human behaviour so he isn't left tearing his hair out wondering why the Donald's on the rise.
Will Hawking make the effort to understand? Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn!
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