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It's worse that that: telling people the facts doesn't necessarily change their minds, often it just hardens their existing beliefs. See, for example, The Backf
by scholia 11y ago
It's worse that that: telling people the facts doesn't necessarily change their minds, often it just hardens their existing beliefs. See, for example, The Backfire Effect
http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/06/10/the-backfire-effect/ http://youarenotsosmart.com/2011/06/10/the-backfire-effect/
In cases where people have very strong beliefs, they would rather abandon reality than change them.
It's quite common in tech, but is it worth worrying about? US society survives despite all the birthers, con-trail conspiracists, creationists, anti-vaxxers, Holocaust deniers, people who think the moon landings were staged in Arizona, and so on.
In that context, I think Wikipedia is doing pretty well....
- jordigh 11y agoIt's so scary when I think about myself and how often do I do that. I want my beliefs to reflect reality, but how well can I do it? How is anyone aware of this bias not afraid that they believe nothing but lies?
- scholia 11y agoDo most people care that much about particular beliefs? Most of us recognize that the world changes, and more information becomes available, and we update our brains on an hourly basis. It's only really a problem for "single-issue fanatics" or extremists or whatever: those people who stake so much of their intellectual, emotional and sometimes financial capital on a particular point of view that they have to defend it regardless of the facts. Creationists, for example.