Why is it so difficult to change a person’s mind ?

“Truth and accuracy are not the only things that matter to the human mind. Humans also…have a deep desire to belong….Humans are herd animals. We want to fit in, to bond with others, and to earn the respect and approval of our peers….For most of our evolutionary history, our ancestors lived in tribes. Becoming separated from the tribe, or worse, being cast out, was a death sentence.”…”Understanding the truth of a situation is important, but so is remaining part of a tribe. While these two desires often work well together, they occasionally come into conflict.”

“In many circumstances, social connection is actually more helpful to your daily life than understanding the truth of a particular fact or idea. Harvard Psychologist Steven Pinker states: People are embraced or condemned according to their beliefs, so one function of the mind may be to hold beliefs that bring….the greatest number of allies, protectors, or disciples, rather than beliefs that are most likely to be true.”

“We don’t always believe things because they are correct. Sometimes we believe things because they make us look good to the people we care about.”

“People have to carefully consider their status and appearance. They want to save face and avoid looking stupid. When confronted with an uncomfortable set of facts, the tendency is often to double down on their current positions rather than publicly admit to being wrong.”

“Silence is death for any idea….Ideas can only be remembered when they are repeated. They can only be BELIEVED when they are repeated.” …People repeat ideas to signal they are part of the same social group….”But at the same time, if you keep repeating bad ideas, wrong conclusions, judgments and untruths, ”the more likely people are to believe it.”

“Most people argue to win, not to learn.” This type of person looks to defeat people who differ from them. “Victory is the operative emotion.” The contrary person is an ”intellectual explorer, ”slowly trying to map the terrain with others. Curiosity is the driving force.”-JamesClear.com.

Conclusion: It’s more important to be a part of a group, sustain the groupthink, then to think for yourself. If such a person does think for themselves and comes to different conclusions, they usually don’t make their opinions known, because then they could be subject to ridicule, shame, confrontation, thrown out of the group, and subject to possible isolation. To the person that none of this matters, that the ultimate goal is truth, facts and accuracy, can be a frustrating road in trying to educate people who’s minds are shut tight. The obvious assumption is, people want to know the truth, but are afraid of accepting the truth, because of the consequences. The real truth seeker doesn’t give a damn for any of this nonsense and is a fearless seeker of truth without any regards to how anyone or any group perceives them. / Done