Communication Breakdown
Posted: Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:52 pm
“You cannot reason someone out of something he or she was not reasoned into.” – Jonathan Swift (maybe, there are a lot of variations on this quote).
Do you think this sentiment is true? Are people who take irrational positions impossible to reach?
How often do you spend effort to change someone’s mind when he/she is clearly misinformed? If you do, how do you “pick your battles?” I am not a particularly confrontational person, so when it comes to “ghosts” or “Bigfoot” or “magic healing crystals” or other relatively innocuous issues I rarely get involved, unless the people happen to be reasonable and willing to have a constructive conversation.
However, there are serious ramifications when it comes to irrational thought regarding COVID and vaccines, masks, etc. The pandemic is not over; it drags on like smoldering ashes after a forest fire just waiting to reignite. Misinformation is costing lives, causing human suffering, damaging economies across the globe, and ultimately preventing us from going back to something resembling life before the pandemic.
So I feel that informed, concerned folks should be trying to help, but what is the best way to go about it? How do you change someone’s mind whose misinformation is deeply rooted, perhaps tied to his/her politics and self-identity?
Do you think this sentiment is true? Are people who take irrational positions impossible to reach?
How often do you spend effort to change someone’s mind when he/she is clearly misinformed? If you do, how do you “pick your battles?” I am not a particularly confrontational person, so when it comes to “ghosts” or “Bigfoot” or “magic healing crystals” or other relatively innocuous issues I rarely get involved, unless the people happen to be reasonable and willing to have a constructive conversation.
However, there are serious ramifications when it comes to irrational thought regarding COVID and vaccines, masks, etc. The pandemic is not over; it drags on like smoldering ashes after a forest fire just waiting to reignite. Misinformation is costing lives, causing human suffering, damaging economies across the globe, and ultimately preventing us from going back to something resembling life before the pandemic.
So I feel that informed, concerned folks should be trying to help, but what is the best way to go about it? How do you change someone’s mind whose misinformation is deeply rooted, perhaps tied to his/her politics and self-identity?