The Science of Reasoning With Unreasonable People

[Zorro]

Don’t try to change someone else’s mind. Instead, help them find their own motivation to change.

A few years ago, I made the mistake of having an argument with the most stubborn person I know. R., whose initial I’m using to protect his privacy, is a longtime friend, and when his family came to visit, he mentioned that his children had never been vaccinated — and never would be.

I’m no proponent of blindly giving every vaccination to every newborn, but I was concerned for his children’s safety, so I started debunking some common vaccine myths. After days of debate, I was exhausted and exasperated. Determined to preserve our friendship, I vowed never to talk with him about vaccines again.

Then came 2020. Fear of the vaccine may be the greatest barrier to stopping Covid-19. It stretches far beyond the so-called anti-vaxxer community: About half of Americans harbor questions about the safety of the Covid-19 vaccines; 39 percent say they definitely or probably won’t get one.

I decided to see if I could open R.’s mind to the possibility. What I didn’t realize was that my mind would be opened as well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/31/opinion/change-someones-mind.html

Don't know how this approach would work on a QAnon follower who believes there's a Satanic cult of blood-drinking, baby-eating deep state Democrats in control of the government...

[Binkie The Clown]

1. My sister has one and only one issue: abortion.

Nothing else matters to her, and for the record, she has five grandchildren and is way past child-bearing age herself. Nobody she knows would ever consider an abortion, so it's not a matter that touches her personally, or has ever touched her personally.

No matter what nuanced approach you try, anyone or any political party that even mentions "pro-choice" is the pinnacle of evil in her mind, and she slams her mind so tightly shut that nothing could ever possibly get through to her.

[Freddie]

2. I know a couple people like that

It’s like talking to the wind. Democrats want free abortion right up to the moment of birth. That attitude was behind a very large % of why people voted for Dolt 45.

[Skittles]

4. why don't people like your sister understand

that Democratic policies (healthcare, sex education, access to birth control) leads to FEWER abortions while republicans do stuff like mishandling covid prevention measures, leading to a half a million deaths

I call absolute BULLSHIT on these single-issue repuke voters, they are *NOT* pro-life, they are HYPOCRITES.

[SharonAnn]

7. Shibboleth. That's all it is. Makes them feel righteous.

[Skittles]

10. I confess, I had to look that up

noun: shibboleth

a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important.


*PERFECTION*

[SharonAnn]

6. Shibboleth. No action to support that. Abortions have ALWAYS occurred.

Before 1973, many were unsafe. Woman died from it.

In today’s United States, childbirth is MUCH more dangerous than an abortion.

[Bradshaw3]

3. Anderson Cooper's report last night provided some insight

He interviewed a former Qanon follower who admitted he used to believe that Cooper was a pedophile who drank the blood of children. The guy now laughs at how stupid his former beliefs were. He came to see the light thanks to figuring out that Q's prophecies never came true. In other words, he came to the conclusions on his own.

In an article circulated on here by the poster blm and others, a game designer said that he believes the whole Q thing is an ingenious game design - his words - in that it inverts the standard design of games that rely on clues laid out by the designer to solve a puzzle. Instead the "players" who follow Q use real world "clues" laid out by Q, or come up with their own, to reach a conclusion that the author is leading them to. Since the clues come from the real world - such as pics of a hand gesture from Tom Hanks, or a pendant worn by a singer, the players believe they are discovering a real world phenomenon. Others who come up with the same conclusions separately then form a circle of confirmation, again a real world aspect of the game.

This method means they are not being educated or led to some conclusions but believe they are coming to them on their own, along with others who did the same. I know psychologists have shown that getting a recommendation from a friend as to, say which car to buy, means more to most people than a review by experts. It's just human nature. I guess this is a long way of saying that we're going to have to find ways to let these people discover the facts in their own way. How you do that for millions of people I have no idea.

Here's a link to the article:
https://medium.com/curiouserinstitute/a-game-designers-analysis-of-qanon-580972548be5

[Nitram]

9. I've read a couple of articles on the game theory approach to understanding how Qanon gets such

a grip on believers. I found them very convincing. Basically, the believer does all the work, weaving random or semi-random elements into a coherent narrative. Coherent, but totally insane to an outsider.

[AmyStrange]

5. +100000000000000000000000000000000 x 2

-

I'd sure like to know what evidence they have of this satanic cult thing?
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[Nitram]

8. Very interesting article. I'm not sure if I have the patience or the skill to apply the technique he

describes.