It’s a question I don’t have an answer to; but I am thinking about.
Are beliefs developed through the acquisition of knowledge? I wonder how many beliefs people have that aren’t a result of knowledge.
Are beliefs developed through repetitive storytelling? I think I’m closer.
People tend to believe the things they hear over and over again. It’s possible they start to pay attention when that story is about survival, waging war against the forces of evil, or about a hope eternal. Are these stories knowledge? I don’t know.
I think I know that knowledge doesn’t break belief. All the facts and figures in the world don’t change a person’s belief. Why change a person’s belief then?
For now, I only see one reason. If you can give that person a story to tell themselves that’s better than the one they’re telling themselves about themselves right now.
That story needs to be built on:
The facts as that person sees them,
A description of how the environment is changing around them,
The real costs and hard truths of change and inaction, and finally,
The tremendous joy they will feel as they overcome the odds and begin their new story as the hero.
Knowledge might only be as useful as the stories it allows us to tell.