There’s something extraordinarily gratifying about being right,

or so I thought.

     My professor once started his class by asking, “What does it feel like to be right?” The answer isn’t what you think it is.

     His answer: “The same as it feels to be wrong!”

     Then what does it feel like to be wrong? My answer was humiliating, literally, but the answer is completely subjective. Your answer says more about yourself than you’d think.

     Pondering this Topic, I stumbled upon an intriguing podcast by You’re Not So Smart named 093 the Backfire Effect (which was transcribed into an article here):

     Essentially, what was studied was people’s neurological reaction to being wrong based on Mild to extreme topics. For instance, a group of people would be asked a series of simple to complex questions as a control group, questions the observer would know the subject believes to be true. As the experiment goes on, a series of evidence is shown that contradicts the subject’s belief system.

     What they found is what they labeled as “The Backfire Effect”.

     “The Misconception: When your beliefs are challenged with facts, you alter your opinions and incorporate the new information into your thinking.

     The Truth: When your deepest convictions are challenged by contradictory evidence, your beliefs get stronger.”

     My professor’s point was that being right or wrong shouldn’t feel like anything! It’s just an exchange of information in which you accordingly adjust your belief system. He compared it to collecting data and then drawing appropriate conclusions in the science community.

via Daily Prompt: Mild