Where Do Our Beliefs Come From? - David McRaney - #493

About this episode

David McRaney is a psychologist, journalist and author. Where do our beliefs come from? How do we form opinions? Why are we persuaded by some points of view but not by others? These are important to understand if we are to avoid developing a biased, unrepresentative worldview, they've also been the focus of the last few years of David's research. Expect to learn how everybody in a group can believe something that nobody believes individually, why arguing online so rarely works, whether people really are becoming more ingrained into their beliefs, how the Westboro Baptist Church convinces its members, the best ways to persuade someone who disagrees with you and much more... Sponsors: Join the Modern Wisdom Community to connect with me & other listeners - https://modernwisdom.locals.com/ Get a Free Sample Pack of all LMNT Flavours at https://www.drinklmnt.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Get 15% discount on the amazing 6 Minute Diary at https://bit.ly/diarywisdom (use code MW15) (USA - search Amazon and use 15MINUTES) Get 10% discount on your first month from BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/modernwisdom (discount automatically applied) Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (00:31) What is a Belief? (08:55) Finding Truth in the Information Era (16:27) Is More Information Actually Beneficial? (21:48) People are Biased & Lazy (29:34) Studying the Westboro Baptist Church (36:05) Lessons from the Jonestown Massacre (47:16) The Dynamics of Change & Adaptation (53:32) Why Arguing Is Good (1:00:02) Where to Find David Extra Stuff: Buy How Minds Change - https://amzn.to/3OxpZeJ  Follow David on Twitter - https://twitter.com/davidmcraney  Get my free Reading List of 100 books to read before you die → https://chriswillx.com/books/ To support me on Patreon (thank you): https://www.patreon.com/modernwisdom - Episodes You Might Enjoy: This Is How To Master Your Life - David Goggins - #577: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Goggins⁠⁠⁠ How To Destroy Your Negative Beliefs - Dr Jordan Peterson - #712: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Peterson⁠⁠⁠ The Secret Tools To Hack Your Brain - Dr Andrew Huberman - #700: ⁠⁠⁠lnkfi.re/SN-Huberman⁠⁠ Get in touch. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chriswillx Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/chriswillx YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/modernwisdompodcast Email: https://chriswillx.com/contact/  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices