This seems to be the thrust of the whole post. I just don't think immersion has the same influence on mature people with a stable worldview. Why would you have to fight back? Who is so easily suggestible?
I can only speak for myself, but I don't even give human experts the benefit of the doubt on anything. Humans are wrong all the time, and LLMs even more so. Starting from a place of distrust has always been a part of my learning process. I only have so much time and effort in a day. When I'm tired or bored I naturally just... shamelessly ignore everything and everyone until I choose to re-engage (if ever). This isn't even defensiveness. It's just easier.
> I spent years in big-tech corporate culture, where every phrase is hedged and every expression flattened into a kind of mush designed to be as inoffensive as possible.
This is a good example of what I mean. As stated, this was earlier in the career. You may not have realized it at the time, but ever giving a shit about offending some people means you automatically lost the game. They assume you're just as stupid as everyone else and will shut up and submit to being intimidated. The people getting in the way of work deserve to have their feathers ruffled. Nobody else likes them either. The worst they can do is fire you. So what? If you only ever "shoot to stop", otherwise speak in simple terms and get shit done on behalf of the team and the bigger picture, they never will.
When you're right, you're right. When you're wrong, you start asking more probing questions. If "immersion" is affecting your way of thinking, it's because you're getting lazy and not asking questions.