"I went to college several years later, which just expanded my already existing ability to use critical thinking."
Rebel8, you're onto something there. Bolh you and Zagor picked an excellent topic. You already concede that you had the ability to think critically. It's possible you would have come to the same conclusions had you not gone to college. What it boils down to is the individual. That's why the whole world is not in one cult or another (although, that's debatable). Personally, I have found many a "free thinker" and I have determined that I'm thinking critically now more than ever.
I recently wrote about my sister (No. 6) who is now (thread here and here) recently escaping "The Village". I always thought of her as intelligent, but realized that she as well as other individuals somehow manage to suppress their logical instincts and rationalize everything in order to retain their illusion. That's the power of emotion. However, it only goes so far. That's why she has finally awaken.
It has nothing to do with formal education, unless you count the process of "life-long learning". That's when someone does not stop reading and seeking out knowledge on their own without the benefit of formal education. Eventually, you're going to do something with it.
Zagor: I read your thread and there are many good points in it. I think you may be describing an actual mechanism, what you call cognitive vacuum, which explains how cults get in your head in the first place. I just can't help but think why one person falls for it and another doesn't. To me, it all comes down to the individual, regardless of their educational level. Perhaps some of us have not developed to the point of reasoning with sufficient conviction to say: "Hey, wait a minute there." I can see where the power of emotions can dominate what one may describe as "that little voice in your head" that tells you otherwise.
In that thread I started a about my sister, I may not have mentioned how she rationalized and actually was conscious enough to suppress her ideas because she thought that it was something she needed to do in order to become what she had envisioned. Because of that, I don't think everyone who falls for a cult simply "vacates" and accepts everything, line, hook and sinker. Many have to accommodate their thinking in order to make it fit their belief system and at the same time satisfy some deep seated desire. That makes clear to me the actions of the JW researcher you speak about. The evidence is there, but he chooses to interpret it another way, one that conforms with his belief system. It may be logical, but based on false premises, it will lead to the wrong conclusion.
That is no different than what happens in any other population. I have lots of friends with whom I correspond who have a totally skewed view when it comes to political subjects. They send out these E-mails blasting somebody or other and I just calmly and effectively show them research that shows they're full of shit. One such fact I discovered was of a poll taken six months after the infamous 9/11 event which showed that more than 70% of the American people believed that Iraq was responsible for the attacks on N.Y., PA, and the Pentagon. Not much critical thinking going on there. And guess who was responsible for that little idea?
The scientific community is no different. Recently, my sister sent me an article from the N.Y. Times that referred to a scientist's claim that OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) may be cause by a strep virus (based on a statistical study of children who had strep and have OCD). In the same article, another scientist says that if you study children who fell out of a tree and broke a bone, you will also find a population that has OCD. The conclusion would be that falling out of trees can cause OCD. I know that this one boils down to the interpretation that the scientist is leaning toward. But I also know that at times it comes down to intellectual integrity and how fair-minded (how much of a critical thinker) the scientist is. It's all relative but it's still an individual endeavor.
Etude.