Maria Popova The Backfire Effect Analysis

Summary

Maria Popova’s article The Backfire Effect: The Psychology of Why We Have a Hard Time Changing Our Minds, expresses that people h ave a hard time changing their minds. It is proven that is hard to change one's minds especially from within oneself, provided with scientific fact, and even winning an internet argument. Changing one’s mind show complications within oneself, because a person tends to be comfortable with their mindset. Popova mentions Carl Sagans’s book Baloney Detection Kit for critical thinking stating “Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it’s yours.” (Popova, 1), this statement proves that a human, when contradicted, are more inclined with their mind changing. Even with scientific evidence,

Popova stated even with compelling evidence, “40% of Americans don’t believe the world is more than 6,000 years old” (Popova, 2) just as people have proven with scientific facts, people will still stick to their beliefs. Even though is only an internet argument people won't have a productive debate, and only magnifies a person;s view of righteousness. Popova referenced McRaney pointing out Daniel Dennett’s Rules for criticizing intelligently and arguing with kindness, says an arguments on the internet are unwinnable states, “when you start to pull out facts and figures, hyperlinks and quotes, you are actually making the opponent feel even surer of his position than before you started the debate” (Popova, 3). This statement further proves that there is not even a moot point arguing on the internet is not even a moot point. Therefore a changed mind will not be an outcome of a “web battle.” Popova's article is that it is hard to change someone's mind in all aspects of the psyche, Popova stated that “Allow yourself the uncomfortable luxury of changing your mind” (Popova, 1) perhaps people should listen to each other and that may make a person a

Since as early as 1400’s the Catholic Church believed that the Earth is flat, a contradiction to this belief will have consequences are attached to someone that counters the Catholic Church's view. As a result of differing a view from the Catholic Church, Galileo adopted Nicolaus Copernicus’s model which “placed the sun rather than Earth at the center of the universe” (Popova, 2) which is disputes the ways of the Catholic Church. Galileo was under house arrest by the Catholic Church, where he spent his last days of his life. After 350 years it was reported in the New York times by Alan Cowell that “Pope John Paul II is poised to rectify one of the Church's most infamous wrongs -- the persecution of the Italian astronomer and physicist for proving the Earth moves around the Sun.” (Cowell, 1), this exhibits the mind being changed by the Catholic Church although in took three centuries to change. Another example of the Catholic Church barely changing their mind is their view with oral contraception. Popova stated that the “Roman Catholic Church declared that the pill distorted the nature and purpose of intercourse.” (Popova, 4), this their view during the oral contraceptive pill was introduced in 1968. It took a public scare the Zika Virus for them to change their