\"Why won't they admit, they are wrong?\" and other skepticsMysteries.

4 Guidelines; (1)Ask questions, be willing to wonder. (2)Defineyour terms. (3)Examine the evidence. (4)Analyze assumptions andbiases.

One of the greatest challenges for scientist and educators ishow to persuade people to give up beliefs they hold dear when theevidence clearly indicates that they should. Why aren't most peoplegrateful for the data? It's easy to make fun of others who won'tgive up ideas or practices that scientific research has shown to bedemonstrably wrong --therapeutic touch, alien abduction, theRorschach Inkblot Test --or beliefs in haunted houses and psychicdetective skills that the skeptical inquirer keeps exposing asfrauds or delusions. IT's harder to see that the mechanism thatkeeps all these people from admitting they are wrong afflicts ustoo --all of us, even skeptics. The motivational mechanism thatunderlines the reluctance to be wrong, to change our minds, toadmit serious mistakes, and to be unwilling to accept unwelcomefindings is cognitive dissonance was invented fifty years ago byLeon Frestinger, who defined \"dissonance\" as a state of tensionthat occurs whenever a person holds two cognitions that arepsychologically inconsistent, such as “Smoking is a dumb thing todo because it could kill me” and “I smoke two packs a day.”Dissonance produces mental discomfort, a state that is asunpleasant as extreme hunger, and people don’t rest easy until theyfind a way to reduce it. Smokers can reduce dissonance either byquitting or by convincing themselves that smoking is not really soharmful. Hey, in fact, it’s beneficial, since it keep me fromgaining weight. The Congressmen and ministers who preach thathomosexuality is a sin and a choice reduce dissonance, when caughtwith male lovers, by saying, I am not \"happy\" –I was just understress.

It is important to honesty express your views and thinkingregarding the issues discussed, as well as any biases or beliefsyou can think of that can help me. Thank you!