I have had the opposite problem you’ve had with direct observation versus dictation from scientific sources.
It is why I struggle with chemistry concepts. Sure, I can see the reactions, but I cannot see the atomic structure of compounds. It requires trust in something you can’t observe.
I learned that much of what I was taught as a child was either not completely true or entirely false, which led to apathy toward knowledge building. What was the point if so much collective knowledge is falsehood? How can one ever determine what’s truly true or really false? There are, of course, objective truths we’ve established through science, but what about things like the food pyramid, the sugar industry telling us that fat was the problem, or learning that our government does, in fact, spy on us through the telecommunications infrastructure? That last one was once the stuff of tin foil hat conspiracy theory.
Anyway, you sound smarter than me. I’m envious.
These people are attention seekers, which explains the CT purchase in the first place.