Recently Ross was telling me about an article he'd read and the overall conclusion of new research which suggests that misinformed people rarely change their minds when presented with the facts.
Worth repeating. Fact not fiction.
Misinformed people rarely change their minds when presented with the facts and furthermore often become even more attached to their beliefs.
In fact, there is a recent study by the University of Michigan which indicates that we as human beings want to believe what we already believe. When we hear information that contradicts our pre-existing view, we feel threatened and think of all the reasons why we believed those things in the first place.
In an effort not to admit that the things we believe are wrong we will actually become more attached to our beliefs.
Also interesting to note is that if our beliefs are so strong, we actually avoid information that contradicts with that belief. We seek out the news articles or news programs or social groups that agree with us.
Even though there should certainly be debate on a multitude of issues, there must also be a common body of facts that everyone agrees on - and therein lies the problem.
You may be saying "I'm open-minded. If presented with the facts, I would change my belief.".
I hope so.
As Mark Twain said . . .
"Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please."
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