Why facts don’t change our minds?

【A】The economist J. K. Galbraith once wrote, “Faced with a choice between changing one’s mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy with the proof.”

【B】 Leo Tolstoy was even bolder: “The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him.”

【C】What’s going on here? Why don’t facts change our minds? And why would someone continue to believe a false or inaccurate idea anyway? How do such behaviors serve us? Humans need a reasonably accurate view of the world in order to survive. If your model of reality is wildly different from the actual world, then you struggle to take effective actions each day. However, truth and accuracy are not the only things that matter to the human mind. Humans also seem to have a deep desire to belong.

【D】In Atomic Habits, I wrote, “Humans are herd animals. We want to fit in, to bond with others, and to earn the respect and approval of our peers. Such inclinations are essential to our survival. 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.”

【E】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. The Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker put it this way, “People are embraced or condemned according to their beliefs, so one function of the mind may be to hold beliefs that bring the belief-holder the greatest number of allies, protectors, or disciples (信徒), rather than beliefs that are most likely to be true.”

【F】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. I thought Kevin Simler put it well when he wrote, “If a brain anticipates that it will be rewarded for adopting a particular belief, it’s perfectly happy to do so, and doesn’t much care where the reward comes from—whether it’s pragmatic (实用主义的) (better outcomes resulting from better decisions), social (better treatment from one’s peers), or some mix of the two.”

【G】False beliefs can be useful in a social sense even if they are not useful in a factual sense. For lack of a better phrase, we might call this approach “factually false, but socially accurate.” When we have to choose between the two, people often select friends and family over facts. This insight not only explains why we might hold our tongue at a dinner party or look the other way when our parents say something offensive, but also reveals a better way to change the minds of others.

【H】Convincing someone to change their mind is really the process of convincing them to change their tribe. If they abandon their beliefs, they run the risk of losing social ties. You can’t expect someone to change their mind if you take away their community too. You have to give them somewhere to go. Nobody wants their worldview torn apart if loneliness is the outcome.

【I】The way to change people’s minds is to become friends with them, to integrate them into your tribe, to bring them into your circle. Now, they can change their beliefs without the risk of being abandoned socially.

【J】Perhaps it is not difference, but distance, that breeds tribalism and hostility. As proximity increases, so does understanding. I am reminded of Abraham Lincoln’s quote, “I don’t like that man. I must get to know him better.”

【K】Facts don’t change our minds. Friendship does. Years ago, Ben Casnocha mentioned an idea to me that I haven’t been able to shake: The people who are most likely to change our minds are the ones we agree with on 98 percent of topics. If someone you know, like, and trust believes a radical idea, you are more likely to give it merit, weight, or consideration. You already agree with them in most areas of life. Maybe you should change your mind on this one too. But if someone wildly different than you proposes the same radical idea, well, it’s easy to dismiss them as nuts.

【L】One way to visualize this distinction is by mapping beliefs on a spectrum. If you divide this spectrum into 10 units and you find yourself at Position 7, then there is little sense in trying to convince someone at Position 1. The gap is too wide. When you’re at Position 7, your time is better spent connecting with people who are at Positions 6 and 8, gradually pulling them in your direction.

【M】The most heated arguments often occur between people on opposite ends of the spectrum, but the most frequent learning occurs from people who are nearby. The closer you are to someone, the more likely it becomes that the one or two beliefs you don’t share will bleed over into your own mind and shape your thinking. The further away an idea is from your current position, the more likely you are to reject it outright. When it comes to changing people’s minds, it is very difficult to jump from one side to another. You can’t jump down the spectrum. You have to slide down it.

【N】Any idea that is sufficiently different from your current worldview will feel threatening. And the best place to ponder a threatening idea is in a non-threatening environment. As a result, books are often a better vehicle for transforming beliefs than conversations or debates. In conversation, 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 position rather than publicly admit to being wrong. Books resolve this tension. With a book, the conversation takes place inside someone’s head and without the risk of being judged by others. It’s easier to be open-minded when you aren’t feeling defensive.

【O】 There is another reason bad ideas continue to live on, which is that people continue to talk about them. Silence is death for any idea. An idea that is never spoken or written down dies with the person who conceived it. Ideas can only be remembered when they are repeated. They can only be believed when they are repeated. I have already pointed out that people repeat ideas to signal they are part of the same social group. But here’s a crucial point most people miss: People also repeat bad ideas when they complain about them. Before you can criticize an idea, you have to reference that idea. You end up repeating the ideas you’re hoping people will forget—but, of course, people can’t forget them because you keep talking about them. The more you repeat a bad idea, the more likely people are to believe it.

【P】Let’s call this phenomenon Clear’s Law of Recurrence: The number of people who believe an idea is directly proportional to the number of times it has been repeated during the last year—even if the idea is false.

解析：D。根据题干中的hardly survive、separated和community可定位至D段。该段开始主要是说作者在自己的一本书中写的内容：人类是群居动物，希望与他人建立联系，而这种倾向性对我们的生存至关重要。在最后一句中提到，离开部落，或者说被驱逐出部落，无异于一种死刑。也就是说，人类离开了自己所属的群体，就会影响到生存，题干是对此内容的近义概述，其中According to the author对应D段第一句的I wrote，hardly survive对应最后一句的a death sentence，separated from原词复现，community对应最后一句的tribe，因此选D。本题有一定干扰性的是H段，该段出现了关键词community，但本段重点是说服人们改变主意，并没有涉及对生存至关重要的内容，因此H排除。 

37. 人们经常接受错误的观念，因为他们优先考虑社会关系而不是事实。

解析：G。根据题干中的false beliefs、social bonds和facts可定位至G段第一句和第三句。第一句主要是说，错误的观念在社交意义上是有用的，但在事实意义上没用。第三句说到，当不得不在两者之间做出选择时，人们往往选择朋友和家人而不是事实。人们选择朋友和家人也就是说选择了在社交意义上有用的错误的观念，题干是对此内容的近义转述，其中false beliefs和facts原词复现，prioritize...rather than对应第三句的select...over，social bonds对应该句的friends and family，因此选G。

38. 大多数情况下，人们会向亲近的人学习。

解析：M。根据题干中的Most often、learn和close可定位至M段第一句。该句提到，最激烈的争论往往发生在处于范围两端的人之间，但邻近的人之间相互学习的频率最高。题干中的Most often对应该句的the most frequent，learn对应learning，those close to them是对该句中people who are nearby的同义替换，题干是对M段第一句后半部分的同义改写。

39. 有时人们接纳某些观念是为了给亲密的人留下良好的印象。

解析：F。根据题干中的Sometimes、beliefs、favorable impression和dear to them可定位至F段第二句。该句提到，有时我们相信一些事情，是因为在我们在意的人面前，它能让我们显得很好。题干中的Sometimes原词复现，adopt certain beliefs是对该句中believe things的同义替换，favorable impression对应该句中的look good，those dear to them是对该句中people we care about的同义替换，题干是对F段第二句的同义转述。

40. 与面对面的交流相比，书籍往往提供了更好的媒介来改变人们的观念。

解析：N。根据题干中的face-to-face communication、books、a better medium和changing people’s beliefs可定位至N段第三句。该句提到，与谈话或辩论相比，书籍往往是更好的转变观念的工具。故题干中的face-to-face communication对应该句的conversations or debates，books原词复现，a better medium是对该句中a better vehicle的同义替换，changing people’s beliefs是对该句中transforming beliefs的同义替换，题干是对N段第三句的同义转述。

41. 在日常生活的许多场合，人们从他们的社会关系中获益比从了解真相中获益更多。

解析：E。根据题干中的occasions、benefit、social bonds和truth可定位至E段第三句。该句提到，在很多情况下，社会联系实际上比理解某个特定事实或想法的真相更有助于你的日常生活。题干中的On many occasions是该句中In many circumstances的同义替换，daily life和truth原词复现，benefit对应helpful，social bonds是social connection的同义替换，题干是对原文E段第三句的同义转述。

42. 要想改变一个人的观念，首先要与他建立社会联系。

解析：I。根据题干中的change somebody’s beliefs、establish和social connection可定位至I段第一句。该句提到，改变人们想法的方法是与他们成为朋友，接纳他们融入你的“部落”，将他们带进你的圈子。题干中change somebody’s beliefs对应该句的change people’s minds，establish social connection是对句中to become friends with them, to integrate them into your tribe, to bring them into your circle的概括总结，题干是对原文I段第一句的同义概述。

43. 没有对现实世界的合理了解，人类就无法生存。

解析：C。根据题干中的Humans、survive、knowledge和actual world可定位至C段第五、六句。这两句指出，为了生存，人类需要对世界有一个合理准确的看法。如果你看法中的世界系统与现实的世界大不相同，那么每天都很难采取有效的行动。题干中的Humans、survive和actual world原词复现，a fair knowledge对应C段第五句中的accurate view，题干是对C段第五、六句的近义概括。

44. 重复不好的想法会增加它们被接受的几率。

解析：O。根据题干中的Repetition of bad ideas、increases和being accepted可定位至O段最后一句。该句提到，你越是重复一个不好的想法，人们就越有可能相信它。题干中的Repetition of bad ideas是对最后一句中repeat a bad idea的同义替换，increases their chances对应该句的the more likely，being accepted对应句中的believe，题干是对O段最后一句话的同义转述。

45. 没有人愿意冒着被孤立的风险放弃自己的观念。 

解析：H。根据题干中的Nobody、give up their beliefs、risk和isolated可定位至H段最后一句。该句提到，如果世界观被撕裂的结果是孤立，那不会有人想要这么做。题干中的Nobody原词复现，is willing是对最后一句中wants的同义替换，give up their beliefs对应该句中的worldview torn apart，getting isolated对应该句中的loneliness，题干是对原文H段最后一句的近义概述。本题具有一定干扰性的是I段，该段中出现了题干中的关键词beliefs和risk，但该段主要内容是改变自己的观念，而不会有社交上被抛弃的风险这种情况，并没有体现Nobody is willing，故排除。