Quote by Kurt Vonnegut
It appeared to the Elders that the people here would believe anything about themselves, no matter how preposterous, as long as it was flattering. To make sure of this, they performed an experiment. They put the idea into Earthlings' heads that the whole Universe had been created by one big animal who looked just like them. He sat on a throne with a lot of less fancy thrones all around him. When people died they got to sit on those other thrones forever because they were such close relatives of the Creator.The people down here just ate that up!
Summary
This quote highlights the Elders' perception that the people on Earth are easily influenced and susceptible to believing self-flattering ideas, no matter how absurd. To test this hypothesis, they conducted an experiment and implanted the notion that the entire Universe was created by a creature resembling humans. This being sat on a grand throne while offering lesser thrones to humans after death due to their close relation to the Creator. Astonishingly, the Earthlings embraced this concept eagerly, thereby reaffirming the Elders' assumption about their gullibility.
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