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

You can only fool people with what they want to hear, such as “you will be rich without effort because I’m giving away my secrets to you for some reason”, but if you tell them something that negates that fantasy you’re telling them exactly what they don’t want to hear.

Conversely if they are among the first people to know the truth about a conspiracy then they will gain an elevated social status whereas if they are proven wrong they will merely be known as somebody who used to believe in something bizarre and that would lower their social status.

Answer 2

You can only fool people with what they want to hear, such as “you will be rich without effort because I’m giving away my secrets to you for some reason”, but if you tell them something that negates that fantasy you’re telling them exactly what they don’t want to hear.

Conversely if they are among the first people to know the truth about a conspiracy then they will gain an elevated social status whereas if they are proven wrong they will merely be known as somebody who used to believe in something bizarre and that would lower their social status.