Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds (2017)
We have this weird fetish these last few years with asserting in broad language that people don&#x27;t change their minds, don&#x27;t respond to evidence, dig their heels in further when presented with evidence that contradicts their preconceived opinions, etc. It&#x27;s all over pop psychology and the headlines.<p>Bugs the heck out of me, because if the language they use is literally true, then no one would ever be convinced to change their minds ever. And yet, we do.<p>It&#x27;s true that perhaps <i>some</i> or <i>many</i> people never change their minds, or that all people might be <i>apt</i> to behave that way when they&#x27;re not focusing their attention, but that&#x27;s wildly different language then the headlines use.<p>This article is obviously guilty as well - &quot;Why Facts Don&#x27;t Change Our Minds&quot;. Like, ever? The content of the article doesn&#x27;t back up the headline, but the headline is what people remember.<p>Even some of the content is probably guilty. In the Stanford capital punishment study, is it really true that <i>each and every individual</i> in the study responded as they describe? Because that&#x27;s how the article is written.<p>And the problem is it gives people more excuse to give up - to not engage with someone who is wrong, or to dismiss someone who is right (that they think is wrong). Because, studies!<p>The real lesson is the opposite - that we have to study and learn critical thinking, and practice, as a discipline, changing our minds when the evidence or reasoning warrants it. Just because it&#x27;s hard doesn&#x27;t mean it&#x27;s impossible, and in fact the ability to do so is part of what makes us an evolved species - or more generally, our ability to surpass our instincts and evolved traits.<p>Show me some experiments that demonstrate what conditions need to be in place, in order for people to change their minds after they&#x27;ve proven to be resistant. (Hint: psychological safety and lack of time pressure.) That&#x27;s what&#x27;ll be valuable. I&#x27;m tired of all these other studies that just say we don&#x27;t.