Facts Don’t Change Minds The Way Friendships Can
Why friendship is becoming a vital psychological hack in a post-truth digital world
“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.”
Leo Tolstoy, ‘The Kingdom Of God Is Within You’ (1894)
I’m not saying we should read this quote every day, but I think it would help our collective sanity if we absolutely read this quote every day. It’s election year here in the UK as well as across the pond in that pesky colony that went rogue and got away from us. In fact, history is likely to see 2024 as THE year of elections given that around 50% of the world is setting out to vote in some form of ‘democratic’ election.
I’ve given ‘democratic’ the bunny rabbit ears because places including Bangladesh, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, Mozambique and North Korea are holding ‘elections’. These elections may not be entirely for the people and by the people and rigorous fairness at the ballot box may not always be enforced.
