Data-Resistant Archetypes

Russia occupies an archetype of the strong, unbeatable force. And this archetype is communicated into our mind through memes. Some of these either deliberately or accidentally have the effect of creating in our minds immovable archetypes. So Russia which has tried to archetype Ukraine as a basket case, weak, corrupt, full of far-right Nazis is defeating mighty Russia! Well it turns out Russia’s archetyping has met the cold, steel, reality of Ukraine’s status as a drone and innovation superpower.

Source: How Disinfolklore Communicates Archetypes

Still, because their minds are full of what I call data-resistant archetypes of a Potemkin state, useful idiots and well-meaning people that all of us know — and sometimes we may feel it ourselves — those of us who look at the data, who parse it carefully, and who understand what is in operation, are these archetypes in the back of our minds. Bogeymen, great men, small men, weak women, weak children. We always need to measure these archetypes against the data of what actually is happening.

Source: How Disinfolklore Communicates Archetypes

The concept of “data-resistant archetypes” is central to Tool 1. These are mental structures that resist being changed by evidence. The archetype of “strong Russia / weak Ukraine” persists despite Ukraine’s performance — because the archetype was installed before the data arrived. See MIAM.

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