This is a condition of human social life. Tribes protect their area of interest, the domain in which they dominate is what provides them bread, butter, and prestige. But it is more than that nowadays, it is the primary identity marker for many. In some sense this is needed in a civilization to enable the scientific endeavour, but I feel like the gravitational pull that reverts to mean, has always, well yeah, reverted, is a function of the cost of information movement. Today crazy ideas can gain traction in days, rather than decades, and I fear that some of these narrative bubbles are beyond pulling back in.