Humans are rationalizing creatures, much more than rational ones. Our first gut reaction is trying to make sense of why we think what we think and why we behave how we behave, rather than trying to figure out if it does actually make sense. If this natural tendency could be changed, the world would be far less of a shithole.

[–] Track_Shovel@slrpnk.net 40 points 10 months ago (9 children)

This is why, rather than slapping people in the face with a mountain of research, I try to ask them questions that lead them to the conclusion I want them to reach. Oh we discuss along the way, but you get a lot less of the black and white thinking bold statements that someone entrenched in their beliefs tends to make

[–] mipadaitu@lemmy.world 34 points 10 months ago (1 children)

The research backs up your statement. Especially if you yourself are genuinely interested in the conversation, and also willing to update your own thinking, along with helping get everyone in the conversation to start understanding the real answers.

In case you haven't listened to it, the You Are Not So Smart podcast covers the topic of how to get people to change on a pretty regular basis. It's a great podcast that talks a lot about conspiracies, misinformation, and how to combat them.

https://youarenotsosmart.com/podcast/

My favorite part of this podcast is that if you listen to it from the start (nearly 300 episodes at this point), you can hear him slowly become very jaded and pessimistic, but then as the podcast goes on, he starts turning around his opinion and gets exited and optimistic about all the progress that is made. It's a really great podcast and makes me excited for the future.

[–] kksgandhi@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago

Thanks for the recommendation!

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