Is not a lie if you believe it
I came to the conclusion that the human potential for self-deception is infinite. Deep huh?
I am disgusted but also a little curious with what people believe despite overwhelming evidence they are wrong. From homophobes to anti-vaxxers to whatever toxic community appears on the internet here and there, people will believe what they want to believe and then they'll double down on the belief EVEN MORE when faced with evidence invalidating their belief. Seeing is not believing for most people in this situation.
Maybe they are outlier but looking at my own behavior I notice stuff like that as well. The crazy thing is that you don't even do it consciously. I know I'm not. I just find myself thinking something obviously untrue and wondering WTF is wrong with me?!
One instance where this is super obvious is when I listen and don't hear. My "fake hearing" mechanism is so ingrate that I fool myself into the "I'm hearing" paradigm. I can be a pretty decent actor and mime normal reactions based on body language clues really well. Most people have no idea how little I hear of what they say. Beyond the fact that this is tragic, what is really sad is that my acting is less acting but really make-believe of the worst kind. I do think or my brain thinks that my reactions are to something I heard though in fact, I did not. I'm like a sad SIM in the simulation that 'talks" with people but is just a program that reacts to something on the screen. It's depressing.
I am trying to snap out of it and be more mindful of when I do that why and how can I stop it. Because really, in the end, seeming to hear and be in a conversation is just a depressing place to be. Better to seem stupid and deaf but at least get something out of a convo than just being more and more isolated in a world of your own making and imagined conversations.
I guess.
By writing this post, aren't you as bad as those people you consider 'wrong' by thinking you are unquestionably right yourself about them being wrong? It's unfortunate that you use anti-vaxxers as an example of people who you believe to be deceiving themselves just because you believe the 'science' you have read trumps their own experience. There have been countless parents who have watched their children go from being engaging, bright and 'normal' children to children that are unable to walk or communicate following vaccinations yet you say that they are deceiving themselves by suggesting that there might be a link between the vaccinations they were given and their decline.
What is depressing in my opinion is how judgmental people are and how eager they are to accept what they are told by scientists or their governments.