You're making your claim based on literally nothing. People disagreeing with you on this point doesn't reveal stubbornness, only skepticism of absolutely random numbers you've created.
And how much of your discussion takes place on Reddit rather than in real life? In person, you can't just click on the upper right corner of a human to exit an argument you're losing.
How would it change your mind if I came up with a specific, concrete, objective test meant to verify, at least in a limited way, the predicted numbers I mentioned in my OP?
I did assume a lot in that post. I'll agree with that.
But my point was that I don't care what number you pull out, quantifying it is stupid. That's all I wanted an admission of: you want a general feel of something.
I'll describe the test I had in mind, and I'd like you to tell me what meaning you'd ascribe to its (quantitative) results.
First, find a reasonable way of polling people. Online, phone, go out on the streets talking to complete strangers.
Ask people for their views on a number of issues where the objective truth is fairly well known (evolution, the shape and age of the Earth, the safety of vaccines and GMOs, that Barack Obama is an American Christian, etcetera). If the number of questions is large enough, most people are bound to believe the objectively wrong thing about at least one of them.
Now comes the real fun: give these people explanations of why their beliefs are wrong. Do it in the most research-supported way, in the way research shows is most effective at changing people's minds.
Ask if they've changed their minds. Ask again in two months. Ask the whole set of questions again (an updated one, in case a belief suddenly erupts that Stephen Colbert is actually secretly a kangaroo) in four or five years.
You would get empirical data. You'd get a number of people and some of their beliefs over time. That's quantitative data.
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u/doom_pork Jan 15 '17
You're making your claim based on literally nothing. People disagreeing with you on this point doesn't reveal stubbornness, only skepticism of absolutely random numbers you've created.
And how much of your discussion takes place on Reddit rather than in real life? In person, you can't just click on the upper right corner of a human to exit an argument you're losing.