On a wholly different subject, one thing that really strikes me is how difficult it is to change underlying core beliefs. It as if our minds are an edifice built upon pillars. Undermine a pillar and the roof may cave in.
Jesus didn't need to bless those who believe without seeing. Once a person has a belief between their teeth, it is almost unshakeable. It is not a brave thing but a dumb fact that people will justify their beliefs by recourse to the most bizarre explanations, rather than admit their principles might be awry.
Indeed, a principle will not be susceptible to argument. It will not be susceptible to facts. It will not be susceptible to evolution. It may - just - be susceptible to erosion. That's the only kind of change I believe in.
We pretend to listen to one another. But how much of what someone else says do we really hear? Very little. Do we change our beliefs when reality fails to conform to them? Nope - we hide out and wait for reality to conform to our ideas. Principles must be protected at all costs from exposure to the air.
Speaking from the point-of-view of psychological geography, I suspect that principles are governed by a different part of the brain than conversation.
Curious thing.
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