The Cosmic Closet: Pluralistic Ignorance in Beliefs About Extraterrestrial Life

To the point

A study led by Avi Loeb surveyed 6,060 adults and found that privately about 67% think intelligent extraterrestrial life exists, yet people estimate their social circle believes only about 21% do, creating a 'cosmic closet' of pluralistic ignorance that keeps beliefs unspoken and inflates misperceptions about others' views, with expert opinions barely shifting those estimates and suggesting beliefs ride more on intuition than authority, which helps explain why anxiety, depression, loneliness, or curiosity about controversial topics stay hidden, and if people realized such curiosity is widespread, discussion and research on UAPs could become more open.