My daddy was a very wise man, and he had a lot of folk wisdom quotes that he would issue. He used to say that some people were so bull-headed that they couldn't see the truth if it hit them over the head.
Today I think we might call that cognitive dissonance. I see it around me all the time. Somebody holds some belief for other, and when almost irrefutable evidence or a solid argument contrary is shown them, they make up some kind of bizarre excuses or twists or reasons why their belief is true and the proof is not actually proof at all. They refuse to even contemplate the possibility that they might need to change their belief system or change the idea they're holding so dearly to their ignorant heart.
Of course we see it in history clearly because we're not so close to it. We can look at the people who believed the earth was flat long after it was proven we live on a globe. We can look at the people who thought the earth was the center of the universe long after we knew that we were in an orbit around the sun and part of a solar system that was part of a galaxy that was part of other galaxies.
One of the causes of cognitive dissonance and bull-headedness is not necessarily obviously science. We have the situation where humans misinterpret things and make up philosophies and religions that have no bearing and fact. We have today even people who make up false scientific so-called data and endeavor to convince people that their point of view is accurate.
For example, I'm not a scientist, but I did get an A+ in biology in high school and in college. I know that there are 2 sexes. I also know there are many ways to express one's sexuality, but biologically there are 2 sexes. Some people, for some strange reason, have decided to promote the idea there are many sexes. They have convinced some people this is true. But it's not true, scientifically speaking. In someone's imagination maybe it seems true. They seemingly cannot be dissuaded, their cognitive dissonance leads their way.
Cognitive dissonance can be seen in almost any area you want to look at, whether it be politics or religion or science. For me I have been in a quest for truth, so if I find myself wanting to defend some belief, I stop and take stock of myself. What are some other points of view about this issue? What are some other ways to look at this? I might end up with a partially different view or absolutely different view or I might remain pretty much with the same view. I think it serves us to honestly look at things, not just defend sacred positions that maybe we don't even remember how we acquired them.
I really urge us all not to take things for granted. Examine everything carefully. Of course now with the internet there are many false things being promoted, some of them by our enemies. But more insidious are the things we learned along the way and think are true, but not everybody thinks they're true. It is clear to me that mutually exclusive things cannot all be correct. If others hold a different view, someone is incorrect or only have part of the information.
So let us take the courage to examine our points of view, rather than be bull-headed as my Daddy used to say.
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