Okay, this is obvious yet I think it should at least be noted from my words. We are all surrounded by many that refuse to think they can ever be incorrect on many topics and if shown even a small amount of evidence that they are they go into immediate meltdown.

These causes of such reactions can be multifaceted. The first facet I will discuss if arrogance. Yep, it is still a thing with us humans and we can all be guilty of it to some degree. However, a healthy-minded adult will rarely slip from actually being thankful for...

...correction even if at first it is embarrassing. In the long run, they gain respect from their peers and will be less likely to make similar mistakes whether it be of judgment or method. If a person is so consumed with always being right then that person robs themselves...

...of the freedom of learning and growing. They rob others too because they must conflict with them and spend a lot of time and energy trying to steer them in the right direction.

The second facet is Antiprocess. It is one of my go-to perceptions of what often happens with hyper-religious types and those that take the woo train to Fantasyville. These people hold ideas so scared or think them so true that they meld their complete identity around them.

When these ideas are questioned or shown to be in error then out of defense the mind will break from that critique and will behave as if it is an attack upon their very person. This can result in emotional discomfort and will prevent them from even considering the opposing view.

They will often reinterpret what they hear into what they want you to say. This is often the core reason for so many strawmen fallacies. In addition, Antiprocess can be a comfort because admitting you have spent a great deal of time and energy into something that isn't...

true can be quite painful, embarrassing, and shocking. It is no wonder we have built-in defense mechanisms in the mind to avoid or deflect or even run from such situations. Yet, if a person is concerned with what is really true they must at all times make some of their core

...beliefs open to scrutiny and admit they could be fully or partially wrong about that ideology. If they can't do this then they are making life harder for themselves and growth and understanding will be stymied.

Is holding to any false belief no matter how comforting...

...worth it in light of actual growth and expansion of one's own understanding? I am not speaking of those that may have severe mental health challenges. I am speaking of the average individual. Please don't think I am attacking anyone in these observations.

Instead, I am looking at beliefs or ideas within beliefs whether they be religious, antiscientific woo ka pseudoscience, politics, or any other form of ideology that can pervade our identity. By saying this I am not saying that all such ideas are bad. They may not be.

So, we must take each idea proposed on an individual basis. It is possible to be very smart and also to be very wrong about any subject. In fact, the smartest people are great defenders of incorrect ideas because they can create all sorts of elaborate workarounds and defenses.

This brings me to the next facet, narcissism. This is different than arrogance and antiprocess but may intersect along the way. This is a sheer act of will to ever be corrected for whatever reason and under any circumstance and can often result in the most...

...shocking of reactions. This is egotism married to the idea that one is perfect thus this is the position adopted by most stubborn among us. They actively resist being corrected and will never admit they are ever wrong. These people can be very dangerous. Especially if they

...find places of great power and influence. Many psychologists speak of the large slice of CEO's and higher management or world leaders coming from this trait. They succeed because they are unscrupulous. They dagger anyone they can to get ahead or just to feel they can...

OOPS...somehow the thread got broken.

I will post the remaining below.

...find places of great power and influence. Many psychologists speak of the large slice of CEO's and higher management or world leaders coming from this trait. They succeed because they are unscrupulous. They dagger anyone they can to get ahead or just to feel they can...

...get away with it if anyone crosses them even in the slightest.

What we see here on social media and in our societies is a microcosm of sheer wrongness in some and the inability, lack of will, or out of defensiveness and idea preservation will stand not to be corrected.

I just hope we can find better ways to slowly get through to some that may be reachable. It is never an easy task. I speak of all this because for a long time I was a cross-section of trait 1 and trait 2. I was quite a disagreeable person, to be honest.

So, I had a lot against me as I went through that stage ranging from mental health issues to intense physical pain. Yet once I received treatment and faced my personal "demons" through therapy and from friends and acquaintances that offered their advice to me. I was slowly...

...led from those traits (being markers of my existence and not just moments of incorrectness) and began to embrace more fully reason, belief revision, humility, and a great love for what is factually true and demonstrable. I used to think I knew a lot about various subjects...

...but really I was covering for my ignorance with blustering statements of my intelligence or my past achievements. I am happy to be from that 'guy". I am happy to be corrected, even if I have to eat crow. I want to grow now and live life as fully as I can.

That is about it for my observation in regard to the subject matter discussed on this thread. If I missed something or got something wrong please inform me. Thank you for reading this insufferably long thread of mine. You deserve some sort of award! LOL!