But people have data. A lot of empirical data from their own lives. When something resonates with someone, it just means it fits the data they collected in their brains.

Most people aren't stupid. If they sound stupid, it's often because they have not heard a better narrative which fits their data.

Our society completely disregards the wisdom of old age. We probably meet hundreds of thousands of people in our lives. We collect both quantitative and qualitative data. That's statistically significant.