Convictions (legal, religious, political) are nearly impossible to change. Even if you line up evidence to prove your point, swaying an opinion is rarely possible. An emotional truth so often outweighs everything else.

Have you been successful? How? Has YOUR mind ever been swayed by someone else?

Flunitrazepam.


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zrs70 wrote:

Convictions (legal, religious, political) are nearly impossible to change. Even if you line up evidence to prove your point, swaying an opinion is rarely possible. An emotional truth so often outweighs everything else.

Have you been successful? How? Has YOUR mind ever been swayed by someone else?

Sure in both cases, if you never change your mind on anything you are out of touch or you are an extremist.

If you want to change anyone's mind, you have to let others make their own train of thought and reach a different conclusion than with that they started with. Furthermore, you have truly listen to their train of thought of their first point of view. most people, in my experience in real life, are actually quite nuanced, their solutions might vary, but ultimately most agree to be looking out for each other.

Yes it is possible because I'm one of those people that has had my mind change after listening to someone's points and doing my own research/thinking.

The key in those cases was the people changing my mind did it in a way that didn't force their views on mine or go into attack mode. They simply made my case and while we at first might have disagreed, it was all very cordial.

Many people's problems nowadays is that they go into full attack mode where they think their point is the only one. And if you don't agree with them 100%, they call you names/go after you. In those cases, not only does it make the other person not want to listen to you, it actually drives them further to the other end of the spectrum.

Is it possible? Yes. Is it likely? No.

I don't know if this counts but I did prove my wife she was wrong once and she admitted it.

Yes absolutely, I think these changes of the mind typically come about in relationships, close friendships, and among family. People you know that well can exchange information with great influence.

I rarely change how I feel about something I have personally observed or experienced. Feelings belong to each individual person and it should not be expected that how someone feels about something can be changed.

I do regularly change my judgement on something involving more objective factors when presented with new information.

People bring up politics though and it should be said that people have a lot of trouble separating their feelings from fact. Unfortunately that is by design and that's how the game of politics is really played.

I was taught to learn, and be able to argue, both sides of a debate. It makes one a much more effective debater, You look at both sides of an issue, and try to look at it from the point-of-view of "a believer". It is a very effective tactic. It may also lead one to change their mind on a subject.

My position on capital punishment evolved from what it was to what it is because of this method. Does that count? I changed my own mind.

I have managed to move the needle on gun-rights with a good friend of mine, who, tragically passed 2 years ago.

Yup. It took years but I can point to a specific example about how someone's point of view has slowly changed over time as a result of associating with myself and others with similar points of view. I've also had my own mind changed about things when presented with specific, measurable and objective facts.

It may not seem like it on the internet but most people are objective and will respond positively to reason. The main reason you don't see it on internet forums, etc, is because the people who do change their opinion on a matter will likely drop the argument and save face by exiting the discussion without responding. (rather than face potential ridicule or embarrassment for having to admit they were wrong)

I convinced my brother Sour Creme and Onion chips are good.... when he was 8... Does that count?

T18 wrote:

I convinced my brother Sour Creme and Onion chips are good.... when he was 8... Does that count?

Convincing an 8 year old is champions league

No.

People change their own mind. I can try and provide information or a convincing argument but ultimately I am not the one that "changes someone's mind" they do, on their own (hopefully willingly and voluntarily).

Tugg

LMP737 wrote:

I don't know if this counts but I did prove my wife she was wrong once and she admitted it.

Naaaaah. I know, this is the internet and you can claim whatever you want. But this is so unrealistic and unlikely, it’s ridiculous to claim such an achievement.

N14AZ wrote:

LMP737 wrote:

I don't know if this counts but I did prove my wife she was wrong once and she admitted it.

Naaaaah. I know, this is the internet and you can claim whatever you want. But this is so unrealistic and unlikely, it’s ridiculous to claim such an achievement.

My 92 year-old grandmother has always insisted climate change is fake for years until I was home for a visit last year, and showed her a NatGeo showcase feature on Guatemalan coffee plantations and how they have suffered from heat and rainfall change in recent years. She has always tried to support Central American coffee for years, and when she saw and heard the evidence from them, in Spanish (her mother tongue), she remarked ‘well, this climate stuff is really a damned shame, isn’t it?’. It touched on something she already had interest in - that’s what made the difference.

zrs70 wrote:

Convictions (legal, religious, political) are nearly impossible to change. Even if you line up evidence to prove your point, swaying an opinion is rarely possible. An emotional truth so often outweighs everything else.[...]

What you describe is an epistemological problem. The vast majority of people do not want to solve or overcome any cognitive dissonance. Immanuel Kant described this phenomenon of intellectual laziness as a self imposed immaturity.

N14AZ wrote:

LMP737 wrote:

I don't know if this counts but I did prove my wife she was wrong once and she admitted it.

Naaaaah. I know, this is the internet and you can claim whatever you want. But this is so unrealistic and unlikely, it’s ridiculous to claim such an achievement.

Touche!

This website is proof minds get changed constantly.

How?

Look at how many members have had to delete their previous usernames/accounts because they made outstanding fools of themselves, over and over again until they get properly adjusted....that's due to mind change.

When I 1st joined this place it homophobic AF, racist AF, sexist AF <-- that one was so freakin' bad it was barely tolerable. I mean there were some serious women haters on this site! A few are still here..but more people have since spoken out to the point that the worst received permanent bans. The less lethal changed their names and either had a change of heart/mind or just realized (after the A.net parody site -remember that?- really let them howl as loud and foul as they wanted - exposed them for the troubled souls they were)..in reflection, they were not the most pleasant of individuals. A.net Rage then vs A.net Rage today..are galaxies apart.

BN747

BN747 wrote:

This website is proof minds get changed constantly.

How?

Look at how many members have had to delete their previous usernames/accounts because they made outstanding fools of themselves, over and over again until they get properly adjusted....that's due to mind change.

When I 1st joined this place it homophobic AF, racist AF, sexist AF <-- that one was so freakin' bad it was barely tolerable. I mean there were some serious women haters on this site! A few are still here..but more people have since spoken out to the point that the worst received permanent bans. The less lethal changed their names and either had a change of heart/mind or just realized (after the A.net parody site -remember that?- really let them howl as loud and foul as they wanted - exposed them for the troubled souls they were)..in reflection, they were not the most pleasant of individuals. A.net Rage then vs A.net Rage today..are galaxies apart.

BN747

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that 20 years ago, many on this site were teens. They have matured.

zrs70 wrote:

BN747 wrote:

This website is proof minds get changed constantly.

How?

Look at how many members have had to delete their previous usernames/accounts because they made outstanding fools of themselves, over and over again until they get properly adjusted....that's due to mind change.

When I 1st joined this place it homophobic AF, racist AF, sexist AF <-- that one was so freakin' bad it was barely tolerable. I mean there were some serious women haters on this site! A few are still here..but more people have since spoken out to the point that the worst received permanent bans. The less lethal changed their names and either had a change of heart/mind or just realized (after the A.net parody site -remember that?- really let them howl as loud and foul as they wanted - exposed them for the troubled souls they were)..in reflection, they were not the most pleasant of individuals. A.net Rage then vs A.net Rage today..are galaxies apart.

BN747

I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that 20 years ago, many on this site were teens. They have matured.

No, no my man...they had ample teen followers but they were spearheaded by seasoned hardcore haters of the full Adult kind. I got into it with many of them well enough to easily gauge their responses.

BN747