It's not, it's about a coinflip (as the sibling reply noted). But you're making a very salient point about the ease at which higher order thinking can be shut down en masse in a population through fear.

Is there an authoritarian government in the history of humanity that managed to kill 50% of its population? What's the average?

Yes, there are situations in which "higher order thinking" doesn't matter.

>Is there an authoritarian government in the history of humanity that managed to kill 50% of its population?

That's the sort of higher-order question you'll be able to find out right after the magical Ebola wave, if you embrace authoritarianism.

Got it, "higher-order thinking" is the new reincarnation of "doing your own research". Not that surprising, actually.

In that both are exemplary qualities, only talked down by people who — by laziness or ulterior motive — would rather see them outsourced?

No, in that both are usually repeated by clueless charlatans.

The fatality rate for ebola is around 50%.

https://www.paho.org/en/topics/ebola-virus-disease

Even at that rate, I would rather take my chances with ebola than live under a communist regime.

https://victimsofcommunism.org/