Idealist fanatic: We are all the same!
Realist tribunal: So, you are saying that you are the same as the worst civilization-destroying barbarian? Ok, take this Idealist away. Next!
One of the Idealist mental errors is: others think/feel the same way I do.
Being even a little realist, one can perceive that there are people who are great solvers of problems, and there are nett creators of problems. This in itself indicates that there are differences in thinking, empathy and productivity. Even more, when one asks oneself whether one could do the things others do, one realises that people's thoughts and feelings differ as vastly as their actions.
The more advanced a civilization is, the more Idealists can exist that make such mental errors. They can exist because the society around them insulates them from harsh reality. A reality such as the fact that when problem makers start to outnumber the problem solvers, the civilization starts to crumble. Preventing a collapse is blocked by the Idealists, who see problem makers and problem solvers as equal, and attack anyone who sees the truth.
The next level of Idealist wrong assumption is believing that people can be changed purely by outside forces, and that mind, instincts, genes and consciousness do not matter. Idealists throw massive amounts of money, religion, education and compassion at populations who do not meet their expectations, and blame anyone but themselves and nature for the inescapable failure of their Idealism.
Simple realist systems of reasoning explain and can improve just about everything. You drop assumptions and dogmas, gather relevant data, match patterns, and conduct small and then larger experiments in a conservative fashion until things improve.
Idealists still want to throw this out in favour of systems of reasoning that can explain almost nothing. Systems that can only exist by suppressing free thought and protecting its true believers from the effects of their theories. Deep inside, Idealists do not really want to improve the world by being more realist, because a world without large-scale suffering is a world without Idealism.
The ultimate type of assumption is probably anything that quacks like a dogma/taboo and walks like a dogma/taboo. Idealists are left with little to cling to when faced with the hard to navigate chaos of nature and reality. Imagine the fear of an Idealists who has been accustomed to the mental equivalent of chanting the same Idealist mantra over and over in one spot, changing to the multidimensional space of infinite possibilities. Realist reasoning does for Idealist systems what the atom bomb did for warfare. Realists use words to ruthlessly destroy institutions, peace of mind, and false beliefs. Idealists beg for mercy or make threats when truth is uttered, or dots are connected. The choice we all have to make is: would I risk my money, time and energy on assumptions that can only withstand scrutiny by controlling all speech and though?
So: don't assume. Look at reality the way it IS, not the way your mental filters paint it based on axioms. Try not to thoughtstop too much, and look for the reasons things evolved the way they did, and the reasons some things are said and other things are taboo.
Idealist: It would be so nice if [Ideal]
Realist: Yeah, but that has never been, that is not, that is impossible and you destroy what IS if you pursue it.
Idealist: Yeah, but it FEELS nice to BELIEVE in it.
