By the same logic, it seems pretty reasonable that any useful belief would become similarly protected. As a belief proves its usefulness over time, why would i

By the same logic, it seems pretty reasonable that any useful belief would become similarly protected. As a belief proves its usefulness over time, why would it not become more deeply embedded and protected? Even if it does not require more defenses to be maintained (like the wrong-but-useful belief in the post), a long-held belief should have proven itself useful enough to form defenses around itself. I think it's worth noting that old people tend to be both stuck in their ways, and frequent victims of scams. Maybe critical thinking declines when you have 80 years of experience to back up your belief system.