Eli5: Why is it easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled?

Question

Eli5: Why is it easier to fool people than to convince them that they have been fooled?

In: 634

Answer 1

Sometimes this is because the person trying to fool you is looking for things you want to believe are true and telling those to you, so they can get you to do things they want.

For example, if you love dogs, they might say “brushing a dog with this kind of brush makes them healthy and live longer” you want your dog to be healthy and live longer, you like the idea of brushing your dog so they will be healthy and live longer. You buy the brush, because you have been promised something you want to be true. And then when someone says “Its not true that brushing the dog makes them healthy and live longer” you want to disagree, because you dont want that thing to be true.

Answer 2

Sometimes this is because the person trying to fool you is looking for things you want to believe are true and telling those to you, so they can get you to do things they want.

For example, if you love dogs, they might say “brushing a dog with this kind of brush makes them healthy and live longer” you want your dog to be healthy and live longer, you like the idea of brushing your dog so they will be healthy and live longer. You buy the brush, because you have been promised something you want to be true. And then when someone says “Its not true that brushing the dog makes them healthy and live longer” you want to disagree, because you dont want that thing to be true.