0
$\begingroup$

What is the best way to overcome: Why facts don't change our minds?
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/02/27/why-facts-dont-change-our-minds

I want to get climate change deniers to seriously consider the possibility that they may be incorrect. It is very important that we achieve a sufficient quorum of public support so that we can implement the required changes.

I have spent hundreds of hours carefully proving that severe anthropogenic (human caused) climate change is a verified fact that does not even depend on expert opinion. The actual raw uninterpreted climate data proves this all by itself.

I was thinking that this would break through to the remaining 33% climate change skeptics that do not have a financial incentive to lie. What is the expert opinion on changing peoples minds on the basis of irrefutable facts?

When there is a difference of opinion even when one disagrees with an expert it is possible that the expert is incorrect. When one rejects verified facts one is impossibly correct. The former seems to be within the range of normal behavior whereas the latter seem pathological.

Improve this question
$\endgroup$
13
  • $\begingroup$ This debunking handbook is exactly what you are looking for $\endgroup$
    – Ooker
    Oct 16, 2019 at 3:48
  • $\begingroup$ @Ooker It looks like that book agrees with at least one of the five other articles that I found. I just did a Google search with "changing minds with facts" and came up with a bunch of stuff. $\endgroup$
    – polcott
    Oct 16, 2019 at 3:54
  • $\begingroup$ Possible duplicate of: psychology.stackexchange.com/q/9433/7001. Also see psychology.stackexchange.com/q/23973/7001, and there is lots of material on this forum on confirmation bias - eg, psychology.stackexchange.com/q/23400/7001. $\endgroup$
    – Arnon Weinberg ♦
    Oct 16, 2019 at 4:39
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @polcott I don't understand the difference. Anyway, one of the answers given to that question is the same as the one provided in comments, which you said is relevant, so I guess they can't be that different. $\endgroup$
    – Arnon Weinberg ♦
    Oct 16, 2019 at 17:17
  • 3
    $\begingroup$ @polcott You don't need to convince me, or likely many of the regulars here, that man-made climate change is a real thing. However, this is not a discussion forum or a place for debate. It seems to me like you are looking for a discussion rather than a Q&A. I'd suggest keeping the inflammatory language to a minimum. $\endgroup$
    – Bryan Krause ♦
    Oct 16, 2019 at 19:15

0

Reset to default

Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.