memes

This isn't the 'gotcha' you think it is. I could just as well ask the fedora fanclub how they respond to someone saying 'bless you' when they sneeze. The point is there are local truths and there are global truths, and you don't have undistorted access to the latter. None of us are playing with a full deck.

To use your own example of fiat money, we all know it's a society-wide fiction but it is kept up willingly and enthusiastically for the reason there'd be a very non-fictional economic meltdown if we didn't do that. We are pretending a small-t truth is a capital-T Truth for practical reasons alone. The danger comes when we forget we're doing that and mistake our aggregate belief for reality itself in my opinion.

I cannot stand people who think they are personally exempt from this kind of thing; people who insist their imperfect senses give them full and perfect access to objective truth. These kind of people are dangerous whether they're religious or secular, I would much rather date a superstitious person who was aware most of what they believe is vague and wooly than someone who calls themselves a rationalist and makes these massive sweeping metaphysical judgements about things.