Why is it so hard to convince other people that they’re wrong?
Short Answer: Because persuasion is a sport.
The goal in sports is to win, not to change teams. The goal of persuasion is to win arguments, not to change minds.
Example:
Me to 7-year old Niko: You should clean your room.
Niko: It’s already clean.
Me: No it’s not. Look at this explosion of stuffed animals.
Niko: Can we go to the bookstore after?
Me: Sure.
Niko cleans his room.
Did I win the argument? Yeah, I got what I wanted! Did I change Niko’s mind about the state of his room? No. He just traded work for something he wanted. A subtle distinction but it makes a huge difference if you extrapolate it out to all the problems in the world.
Owls vs Pigs:
After thinking a lot about cognitive biases and talking to lots of people about it, the #1 question I get on the topic of biases and motivated reasoning is overwhelmingly people asking me why they have so much trouble convincing other people that they’re wrong.
Imagine your town’s basketball team, the Owls, is playing against your biggest rival, the Pigs. The Owls were ahead…
