Facts (usually) Don't Change Minds: with Melanie Trecek-King

Facts usually won't cut it. We need to drill down to how beliefs are formed and protected.

Educator Melanie Trecek-King of Thinking is Power does a lot of writing/speaking about identity beliefs.

[shawnsimmons]

I grew up in a Southern Baptist fundamentalist household in a small rural town in northeast Arkansas. So my entire existence and identity was cemented in that strict religious tradition throughout my childhood, my adolescence, into my early twenties. Also throughout my entire life, I had an extremely passion for learning about archaeology, paleontology, anthropology, astronomy, and biology. I collected rocks, fossils, and built an absurd collection of books on history and science because I desperately wanted to learn what were the causes that created the world and the events that led our civilization to what it is today.

The more I learned, the more I realized that I was having to intentionally reject the parts of scientific knowledge that conflicted with the religious beliefs I grew up believing in.

In my mid twenties, I finally found the courage to accept the fact that religion is of human construct. Once I was able to get to that point, the world and the universe and humanity became so incredibly more beautiful and meaningful.

I can only speak for myself. This is my personal story.

[TheAtheistMexican]

"First ask yourself, 'why do I want to engage?'" The single most important question in the social media era.

[michaelhogan]

“It’s impossible that everything we believe is true.” What a psychological swing!!

[jamesmcmillan]

So glad she touched on tribalism. Today we can belong to so many because of social media and of course the mainstream media. When you criticise a tribe and especially its leadership, cognitive dissonance becomes an impenetrable barrier. This was crucial for our survival as a species but now has become a huge problem in modern day society imo.

[williammiles]

Well said! “We can’t learn if we’re certain we’re right “.

[Fiawordweaver]

What’s beautiful about science is that it’s life all around us. I was lost in biology class in high school. No amount of tutoring cracked the code. Then community college and the best teacher I ever had, taught in a manner that spoke to me. She opened up a whole new world. Science turned into my favorite subject. I thought I was stupid in high school. I blossomed in community college and I continue to love learning. After my bs degree I went on to work as an environmental radiation health and safety specialist working on a superfund clean up site. I’m 71 now and so impressed with my journey. The dumb girl from a family of 5 male siblings that were the chosen, spread my wings to shine and raise two children alone as a single parent. What a wonderful world the gift of science provided for me. 🎉

[DharricRolyat]

One of the most valuable videos I've seen in a long, long time. Thanks for this.

[htpkey]

This is a great explanation, especially the part about thinking "you're too smart to fall for misinformation". Thank you!

[ufsg]

Wow, this is brilliant. The only thing I might add is that the individual's desire to be accepted, respected, loved and admired is so strong and it is the group that we belong to that provides us with that. It is not too difficult to see why some of us can do terrible things or believe in weird things because that is what "our" group expects from us

[deathuponusalll]

When I discovered logical fallacies are and exist, it opened my mind to so many things and truly humbling.

[KeithCooper-Albuquerque]

Thanks, Seth for this wonderful video. Melanie is complete right about this. We need these techniques to help us bring together with those with whom we have been fighting.

[VanHalenIsolated]

I wish this video was at least an hour long. How amazing this video is. I do appreciate that it’s short and sweet, however, because it’s a good video to rewatch to check myself.

[francelaferriere]

This is excellent. I will have to listen to this again later on.

[brianfox]

The trick I use is the more I hear something I want to hear, or the more my biases are confirmed, the more suspicious I become that I might be wrong.

[AbsolutePixelMaster]

The humility Melanie exhibits is incredibly inspiring! It is what I strive to achieve, to put her approach into practice, both for my own growth, as well as to improve my effectiveness when I am communicating with someone else. But it isn't easy, especially when that other person (I'm already "them-ing" them, ha ha) is... not so humble.

[juliapardieutroyer]

Thank you for the wonderful presentation. Epistemology & Empathy are are, I agree, necessary bedfellows for engagement and growth

[heatherrocchi]

I will be watching this at least three more times.

[williammcfarlane]

I've heard the statement that I think is very true, you can't logically convince somebody out of something that they didn't logically convince themselves into...

[Hockey]

Great video and explanations of how we can correct for our own biases and try to have meaningful conversations with those we might not agree with.

[rickylamar]

Mel. Im 95% sure you're the best!