True, but sad

[xylohypha]

You can lead some people to facts, but you can't make them think.

(Prompted by the results of a study which showed that people who believe things that aren't true will very rarely change their minds after being shown definitive proof contrary to their beliefs.)

Crossposted. See also http://xylohypha.dreamwidth.org/211761.html. Please feel free

Comments

[lenine2]

I've been seeing references to that study a lot lately. It's no mystery why.

[xylohypha]

Indeed.

Fortunately, in the end, reality will have its way, no matter what anyone believes.

[abject_reptile]

I learned this through bitter LJ experience. Rather late in life, you might say, but I guess I'd thought that it was true of some people but not (almost) universally true. To give people credit though - it can be hard to tell what constitutes 'proof' and what the 'facts' are or if there even are any. As a result one tends to fall to one side or the other - scepticism on most subjects but a willingness to believe that truth is accessible (my default) or digging in one's heels and sticking with whatever one's inclined to believe and bugger the facts. From an evolutionary perspective, they both have their uses.

[xylohypha]

To give people credit though - it can be hard to tell what constitutes 'proof' and what the 'facts' are or if there even are any.

It's particularly hard because people tend to choose their "reputable sources" by picking those which support what they already believe.

But, as I said to Lenine, reality will have its way, eventually.

[abject_reptile]

They do, but there's no alternative. It's how we're wired. I favour the sources that share my view of the world because they make sense to me - that is, I understand them - but I never assume them to be factually true on any given issue. Whether we go with sources that support our beliefs or ones that don't the odds of our finding the 'facts' are about even. I no longer argue issues with people because what one argues about is seldom facts; it's usually ideology.

Mostly, there are no reputable sources. My brother asked me if I could recommend a reliable news source and I said no. What is one to do?

[xylohypha]

Well, at the very least, one can assign "unreliable source" to ones which insist that up is down and the earth is flat.