No argument, appeal, or logic can pierce the veil of insistent ignorance. Learning can only occur if the person accepts new information as a new opportunity. Too many people consider their knowledge and opinions to be finished forever. Coupled with the inability to understand that they might be wrong, this tendency toward close-mindedness becomes toxic to both the person and the society around them. It also leads you to wrongly conclude that either Rush or Nicki Minaj sounds great at any volume.

“…but scientific ideas have been proven wrong…”

They are supposed to be. The premise of knowledge is expansion. New information isn’t met with denial. It’s embraced so that the base of understanding can be revised. Being wrong is built into the scientific method. We went from an Earth-centric bubble to one in which we are a minuscule component of a vast universe.

Among examples of this is that it wasn’t until the late 1980s that it was declared unethical to perform surgeries on babies without anesthesia. Another great example is that people thought Led Zeppelin made great music. The man who insisted that ulcers weren’t caused by stress was told he was an idiot – until he proved it by infecting himself. Germs didn’t exist for centuries.

We should strive to live our individual lives with the same mantra: new information leads to new ideas.

“Regarding human affairs, the expectation that you can heal someone’s inability to be open to new information is among the most foolish.” If you think that bombarding someone with information will change their mind, you’re forgetting that you’re talking to a closed door.

“I know what I know and no amount of proof otherwise will sway me.” This quote is from something I wrote four years ago and it perfectly sums up so much of the problem. We expend considerable money and effort to educate people. It’s useless unless all of us are willing to listen, absorb, and change our fundamental understanding of anything and everything.

Study after study has proven that we tend to believe something and then find ways to substantiate it, excluding other possibilities. It’s the problem with politics, religion, and interpersonal relationships.

Knowing you’re ignorant is the essence of humility. Just because I don’t know something doesn’t mean it’s unknowable. If you blind yourself to the likelihood of error, you’re going to be betting on dead horses.

Ignorance is easy to exploit. A questioning mind, though still ignorant, can’t be locked into permanence.

Love, X
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