(Newscko) ─ There are still many people who firmly believe that the earth is flat. False beliefs are difficult to shake. They cause numerous issues, slow down social progress, lead to conflicts. Nevertheless, it is true that many people living with false beliefs would not budge. No logic, data, or evidence can help change the views of some individuals. Here are the top 10 reasons for false beliefs:

1. Widely prevalent misinformation:

These days, misinformation spreads very quickly due to the internet and social media. There are always some people who would believe that information. These are individuals who would not question the source of information.

2. Not questioning the source of information:

It is the next logical reason. Many believe that something printed or written is the final proof of concept. However, these days information/misinformation is created in massive amounts. Thus, people may believe information received from some biased channel and even a piece of fake news forwarded by someone they know.

3. Cultural reasons for false beliefs:

For example, in some cultures, it would be fairly simple to tell individuals that some things are based on religious texts, so it must be correct or accurate. Often, many cultural beliefs are passed on generation after generation, and they are never to be questioned.

4. Wishful thinking for false beliefs :

Humans are emotional beings. Everyone would like to see things happening in a certain way. It means that if a person finds some information that coincides with their wishes, they are more likely to believe it. Thus, a severely ill person is more likely to believe in some unproven remedy.

5. Fear of something:

It is just the opposite of wishful thinking. Even small news of a single side effect of some medication or vaccine is interpreted as something significant that may occur to most people. All this happens due to fear.

6. Conclusions based on too little information:

People may just see one side of the picture. For example, they may hear about a plane crash and assume that air travel is dangerous. However, they might not consider that road travel poses a much greater risk.

7. Inability to look at the broader picture:

Quite like too little information, some may base their beliefs on a narrower outlook. For example, if someone had some nasty side effect with a vaccine, it would be difficult to tell that person that such events occur one in a million. According to NursesPrime, false beliefs can lead to destructive stress, driving you to have high blood pressure, heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

8. Lack of information or complex data:

In many cases, data may be missing or too complex for anyone to interpret. For example, it would be difficult for many to say if white water rafting is more dangerous or the risk of catching some infection when on a safari. Thus, people may form different opinions.

9. Lack of understanding of basic concepts:

A person cannot know all about everything. Thus, some may not understand much about physics, others economics. In such cases, people are more likely to develop false beliefs.

10. Polarization of thoughts:

We all are emotionally attached to some issues and always support some causes. Thus, if someone with an opposing view is correct, chances of agreeing with that person are small. This polarization may be based on nationality, race, religion, likes and dislikes, hobbies, and so on.

To conclude, false beliefs are a common source of conflicts, disbelief in others. Nonetheless, they are pretty difficult to shake.