Thread by @simonmaechling

Ever met someone who says,
“I care about science”…

But also believes GMOs are poison, vaccines are dangerous, and chemicals = bad?

That tension in their brain? 🧠
That’s called cognitive dissonance.

Let’s break it down 🧵1/

Cognitive dissonance?

It’s the mental discomfort you feel when you hold two conflicting beliefs at the same time.

Example:

🧪 “I trust science”
❌ “But I don’t trust vaccines”
= Brain error detected

Your brain doesn’t like contradictions.

So it tries to fix the tension. 2/

But here’s the catch:

It doesn’t always fix it by changing your beliefs.

It often fixes it by rejecting the facts. 3/

Faced with dissonance, people will:

❌ Attack the source:
“That study was funded by Big Ag.”

❌ Move the goalposts:
“Okay, maybe GMOs aren’t dangerous but they’re still unnatural.”

❌ Invent excuses:
“I’m just being cautious.” 4/

It’s not about logic anymore.
It’s about protecting identity. 5/

Cognitive dissonance helps explain:

⚠️ Why people double down when proven wrong
⚠️ Why conspiracy theories are so sticky
⚠️ Why “changing minds” is so hard

Facts don’t fix feelings.
Not right away. 6/

If you want to fight misinformation:

✅ Be patient
✅ Ask questions, don’t preach
✅ Show empathy without endorsing nonsense
✅ Create space for people to update - not dig in deeper

Because the goal isn’t to “win.”
It’s to make thinking feel safer than clinging. 7/

🧠 Cognitive dissonance isn’t stupidity.

It’s a glitch in how humans protect themselves.

But if we don’t learn to confront it,
we’ll keep mistaking comfort for truth.

Science won’t always feel good.
But it’s still true. 8/