4 ms·

Facts don't change our minds because we make up our world views and beliefs in a way that's expedient for us to happily continue about our lives. For instance,

by Mikeb85 10y ago

Facts don't change our minds because we make up our world views and beliefs in a way that's expedient for us to happily continue about our lives. For instance, we all NEED to believe we're the 'good' guys. Whether the 'we' is our religion, our job, our state, political stance, etc... This prevents existential angst from realizing we're in the wrong, and then needing to change our behaviour which would disrupt our everyday lives. This is also the reason why we stay in failed relationships, keep toxic friends, jobs we hate, etc... It's easier and more conducive to our survival instincts to keep the status quo, whatever it is. Only when things get extremely bad do we ever change. On the flip side, let's say popular opinion about a particular topic flips. When it becomes expedient to change our opinion, then we're very quick to do so. When keeping an archaic opinion begins to cause friction in our everyday lives, we change to the prevailing opinion because again, staying with the tribe is easier than going against it. But of course, realizing all of this would be to reduce human existence to base survival instincts, which would also ruin our self-narrative. So we think we're all special, enlightened, unique and think for ourselves no matter how much the evidence points to the fact that we all devolve into holding the same popular opinions.

77pt77 10y ago
> When it becomes expedient to change our opinion, then we're very quick to do so. And even deny that ever had any other position.
- Mikeb85 10y ago
  Of course. That would be an admission we were wrong which goes against our worldview where we're right.
  - Florin_Andrei 10y ago
    Human beings are full of way-overcranked early optimizations. I guess that's what was required for the propagation of the selfish gene (and individuals be damned, Stalin-like), and you can't really blame a natural process - but sheesh, the whole thing just looks like a stinking pile of bad engineering. Maybe that's because I'm thinking from the side of the individual. The selfish genes, however, must be pretty happy with the result.
    - 77pt77 10y ago
      > the whole thing just looks like a stinking pile of bad engineering Well, there is no engineering at all involved, so not really unexpected.
      - majewsky 10y ago
        I never thought about it that way, but this is probably one of the most popular arguments about creationism. (There's a joke where people argue about the profession of God, based on his creation of man. The punchline is someone suggesting he must have been an architect, "because who else would send the sewer pipe through the amusement park.")
- FabHK 10y ago
  I fully agree, and I never said anything else.
randcraw 10y ago
That sounds like a good strategy for peace of mind, or social harmony, but a poor strategy for individual survival. Believing that the police (or your six-shooter) will protect you from harm, when they won't, doesn't even look good on a tombstone. IMO, the better question is: why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? If we really are enlightened (unsuperstitious), why isn't it more important to each of us that we know what we do/don't know and then assess risk and reward accordingly and rationally? Why so little faith in reason?
- pokapulation 10y ago
  >why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? Because more important than attending directly to the growth of knowledge is guarding the conditions under which it can grow. The desire to be right is often used against us -- as embodied in traditional ideas about Satan, who brings light (hence 'Lucifer') and uses the truth selectively to accuse.
- Mikeb85 10y ago
  > Believing that the police (or your six-shooter) will protect you from harm, when they won't, doesn't even look good on a tombstone They won't save us, but statistically, we won't need either to save us. Even defenseless animals often survive in herds or schools. We want to believe the police will save us to not lead a paranoid existence, just as the herd animal isn't betting on it being dinner. > IMO, the better question is: why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? Because doing things necessary for survival doesn't require a correct worldview. Witness how many people who hold archaic beliefs manage to survive, gain importance in society and reproduce. Edit - a good example is religious beliefs. They give some people a sense of purpose, a sense of kinship, and a belief that they'll personally succeed. Even if a religious person succeeds on their own devices, they'll attribute it to their deity as the psychological boosts from believing are more important than the validity of the beliefs themselves. This can even be seen in scientific studies on the brain while praying/meditating, and the practical benefits have been observed across religious lines.

by Mikeb85 10y ago

77pt77 10y ago

> When it becomes expedient to change our opinion, then we're very quick to do so. And even deny that ever had any other position.

Mikeb85 10y ago
Of course. That would be an admission we were wrong which goes against our worldview where we're right.
- Florin_Andrei 10y ago
  Human beings are full of way-overcranked early optimizations. I guess that's what was required for the propagation of the selfish gene (and individuals be damned, Stalin-like), and you can't really blame a natural process - but sheesh, the whole thing just looks like a stinking pile of bad engineering. Maybe that's because I'm thinking from the side of the individual. The selfish genes, however, must be pretty happy with the result.
  - 77pt77 10y ago
    > the whole thing just looks like a stinking pile of bad engineering Well, there is no engineering at all involved, so not really unexpected.
    - majewsky 10y ago
      I never thought about it that way, but this is probably one of the most popular arguments about creationism. (There's a joke where people argue about the profession of God, based on his creation of man. The punchline is someone suggesting he must have been an architect, "because who else would send the sewer pipe through the amusement park.")
FabHK 10y ago
I fully agree, and I never said anything else.

randcraw 10y ago

That sounds like a good strategy for peace of mind, or social harmony, but a poor strategy for individual survival. Believing that the police (or your six-shooter) will protect you from harm, when they won't, doesn't even look good on a tombstone. IMO, the better question is: why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? If we really are enlightened (unsuperstitious), why isn't it more important to each of us that we know what we do/don't know and then assess risk and reward accordingly and rationally? Why so little faith in reason?

pokapulation 10y ago
>why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? Because more important than attending directly to the growth of knowledge is guarding the conditions under which it can grow. The desire to be right is often used against us -- as embodied in traditional ideas about Satan, who brings light (hence 'Lucifer') and uses the truth selectively to accuse.
Mikeb85 10y ago
> Believing that the police (or your six-shooter) will protect you from harm, when they won't, doesn't even look good on a tombstone They won't save us, but statistically, we won't need either to save us. Even defenseless animals often survive in herds or schools. We want to believe the police will save us to not lead a paranoid existence, just as the herd animal isn't betting on it being dinner. > IMO, the better question is: why is peace of mind more important to us than actually being right? Because doing things necessary for survival doesn't require a correct worldview. Witness how many people who hold archaic beliefs manage to survive, gain importance in society and reproduce. Edit - a good example is religious beliefs. They give some people a sense of purpose, a sense of kinship, and a belief that they'll personally succeed. Even if a religious person succeeds on their own devices, they'll attribute it to their deity as the psychological boosts from believing are more important than the validity of the beliefs themselves. This can even be seen in scientific studies on the brain while praying/meditating, and the practical benefits have been observed across religious lines.