"Imagine a group of adults playing make-believe like young children, building an elaborate fantasy world with imaginary characters, rules, and events. Except in this case, the adults fully believe their made-up world is real and factual. They passionately discuss the details, promote the existence of fictional beings, and defend the internal logic of their pretend universe as if it were objective truth.
To an outside observer, it's jarring and almost sad to see grown adults suspend their critical faculties and wholeheartedly embrace fanciful notions with zero credible evidence. It's as if their ability to rationally evaluate claims has been swept away by a potent mix of wishful thinking, gullibility, and a stubborn self-assuredness that doesn't require proof.
This detachment from evidence and reason is akin to the unselfconscious credulity of a child getting swept up in the magic of their own imagination. Except children have the excuse of being, well, children. For adults to stubbornly cling to ideas contradicted by all reputable data and expert consensus is more bewildering. It suggests either a profoundly lacking education and critical thinking skills, or a willful rejection of factual reality in favor of validating one's preexisting beliefs, no matter how unfounded."