Americans, do we know why the brainworms make so many of you think things like "If a measure does not provide 100% protection and eliminate all risk why bother reducing the risk?" about things like messengers and face masks? Is it a specific region of the brain that's chewed up?

— Naomi Wu 机械妖姬 (@RealSexyCyborg) January 12, 2021

I’ve been contemplating a great deal lately this bizarre Manichean thinking so characteristic of Americans. It’s just so strange.

Why do they believe a measure has to be 100% effective or it’s useless? Is this a result of the binary nature of STEM education, where either the answer is right or completely wrong? I want to understand but I just can’t produce any plausible model of this utter failure of assessment of the world.