[Source] In yesterday's essay on 'Parallel Realities,' I explored how algorithmic sorting and information manipulation have created fragmented realities where we no longer share a common understanding of facts. Today, I'll dig into the flip side: why our minds cling to beliefs despite evidence of manipulation.
A saying, dubiously tied to Mark Twain, puts it: "It's easier to fool people than to convince them they've been fooled." True or not, it nails a psychological reality - once we've committed to a belief, abandoning it can feel nearly impossible.
In my previous work, I've explored how our information landscape is systematically engineered through algorithmic division (‘Engineering Reality‘), institutional narratives (‘Reading Between the Lies’), and the systematic dismissal of pattern recognition (‘That Can't Be True’). But understanding these external systems is only half the equation. The other half lies within us – the psychological mechanisms that make us resistant to changing our minds even when confronted with overwhelming evidence.
Read more...
