Just to prove you are right and they are wrong is usually a pretty weak justification.  It is, however, a very common human emotion that is likely related to the hierarchy positioning want.  Perhaps a better question is, “What is the value of correcting another person’s faulty belief?”

What is the benefit to you, them, and others if they change their belief to your belief? What precisely will be gained in the sense of increased wants satisfaction? In whose opinion will there be an increased wants satisfaction? 

How much effort?

In A Theory of Human Behavior / Memetics: The Micro Theory I give a precise quantitative measure of the effort required to change a belief.  For the present simply note that the effort to change another’s belief depends on the individual’s willingness to change and the number of consequential secondary changes that will occur if the belief is altered.  Willingness to change depends on a genetic factor, cultural experience, and idiosyncratic experience.  Consequential changes consist of mental model changes and external relationship changes.  Our mental model of the world is build up in knowledge chunks.  Like a building they sit one on top of the other.  Beliefs near the foundation require major changes in the overall structure.  Changes near the top of the building may require few if any other changes.  Many of our personal, political, community and commercial relationships are based on some number of beliefs in our mental model of the world.  Some changes in the mental model have consequences to those relationships.  Putting this on a precise quantitative foundation is discussed at length in the theory sections later.  It is critical if one is to attempt to forecast in a complex human system

What is the probability of changing their belief?

In the later theoretical discussions you will see that there is an absolute minimal level of effort to change a belief.  Below this level of effort no belief can change.  However above the minimal level we see that the relationship only gives a probability of change occurring.

Backlash Consequences

There are two types of backlash effects; secondary effects due to the belief change and response effects as a result of what you did to initiate the change. 

In my first example of a faulty belief I discussed a situation where a group of programmers had developed the belief that the new mainframe computer could not write duplicate records.  I changed the belief by writing a program that wrote duplicate records.  I did it in such as way that to continue to maintain the belief would be clearly foolish.  The belief was immediately corrected.  However, there were 2 backlash effects. 

The programmers did not want to convert the applications to the new mainframe.  The no-duplicate-records belief was an excuse for not working on the conversion.  They then put forth another excuse, with which I had to deal.  Eventually they ran out of excuses and did the conversion. 

I was in a hurry.  I demonstrated the belief to be faulty by making those who had believed it look foolish.  They understandably resented it.  The resentment continued long after the conversion. 

Benefit/cost ratio

Considering the effort to attempt to change a belief, the probability of failure, and the potential for backlash, is it really worth it? We frequently understand this intuitively when we avoid arguing about political and religious issues. 

Change your own faulty beliefs

It is my belief that most people waste much effort trying to change the beliefs of others.  In most cases their belief is just as faulty or the effort far greater than is feasible to invest.  Of course this is just my own unsubstantiated belief and perhaps it is faulty.  In any case one cannot just give up, because sometimes you can made a difference.  This is, of course, the basis of the prayer, “Lord, give me the strength to change that which I can, the patience to accept that which I cannot change, and the wisdom to know the difference.” To which I would add, “and, especially the wisdom to know when it is I that should change.” 

If you truly want the wisdom you must study hard and practice often, so that when the time is right you will know the difference.

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(C) 2005-2014 Wayne M. Angel.  All rights reserved.