On People Who Prioritize "Believing" and "Asserting" Over Facts

Does our own life get any better just because we managed to defeat some stranger on the internet? Is the "correctness" of our principles and arguments really that important?

There is a difference between good and bad questions

Many problems that (seem to) exist in the world are based on questions that are "framed incorrectly from the start."

As an example, let's take that common topic: "Effort vs. Talent." It's the question, "Is effort more important for success, or is talent more important?" Another form of this question is when someone points to a specific successful person and asks, "Was that success due to effort, or was it due to talent?"

This is a very poor-quality question. Several immediate criticisms come to mind, such as the following:

• Effort and talent are not mutually exclusive; they can exist simultaneously. It is unnatural to describe success as either "succeeded with talent alone without effort" or "succeeded with effort alone without talent." In the real world, both successful and unsuccessful people are competing as "individuals who possess a certain amount of talent and exert a certain amount of effort." (→ A similar bad question: "To be healthy, should I eat meat or vegetables?")

• Introducing the concept of "quantity" or "degree" rather than "presence/absence" might make it slightly better, but "effort" and "talent" cannot be measured in the first place. Even if they could be measured, they likely have different units, so a simple comparison is ultimately impossible. (→ "Who is stronger, a gorilla or a shark?")

• Effort is something you can choose to exert or not (supposedly), but talent cannot be changed. Is there anything to be gained by arguing about something that cannot be changed? (→ "If I could win the lottery jackpot on my own starting now...")

• Effort and talent are not the only factors related to success. There are countless other important factors (environment, timing, human encounters, etc.), which are usually grouped together and called "luck" or "fate." The impact of these is too large to ignore, yet they are not included in the original question. (→ "To be popular, is height or income more important?")

If you understand these points, you have to admit that even if you think seriously about "effort vs. talent," there is almost nothing to be learned from it. Or rather, after thinking about it for a while, you should realize for the reasons just mentioned that "the premise of this question is wrong to begin with."

If you don't realize that, then perhaps that person just wants to "assert" something and is doing almost no "thinking" internally.

Why does everyone want to argue like this?

The reason people go out of their way to have these kinds of arguments is not because they want to objectively understand how the real world works, but because they want to assert how they want the world to be. In other words, they are talking about their desires and beliefs.

In these arguments, people who say "effort is important" want to believe in a world where "those who make an effort are rewarded," while those who argue "it's talent after all" somehow dislike people who believe the former and want to deny it at all costs.

Usually, when we talk about "beliefs," they tend to be thought of as something good. If this is a conscious "determination" within oneself—a stance of "no matter what the world is like, I will take this attitude"—then it is certainly good. When you want to work positively toward a goal, such feelings are important. Especially when the outcome is not guaranteed and the path is long and difficult, such inner strength of determination is almost essential.

However, what about beliefs in the sense that "the world should work this way"? Believing in a worldview that differs from the facts is basically a harmful habit. It is not good in the sense that your own life will not go well, and in many cases, it becomes a nuisance to the people around you. If you have dabbled in psychology, you may know that in the field of psychology, the term "just-world hypothesis" is applied to this very assumption that "those who make an effort are rewarded" or "justice will prevail."

No matter how you define good or evil, there is probably no one who wants a world where the bad guys win. However, "how you want the world to be" and "how the real world is" are separate questions. You cannot think about things correctly if you confuse these.

If you win the argument, are you satisfied with that?

Unfortunately, people who want to "believe" and "assert" are not very interested in how the real world actually is. They have no desire to know it at all. The word "correct" they use does not represent the "accuracy" of perception and understanding, but merely the "win or loss" of an argument.

If you are a person who wants to "know the facts," even if the real world is of an unpleasant or disagreeable kind (e.g., good intentions and effort are not always rewarded), you should accept it as a fact for the time being. If you can do that, you can calmly think about "what we can do to deal with such a reality." Understanding creates the possibility for a solution.

On the other hand, those who are on the side of 'wanting to believe' or 'wanting to assert' will remain forever at the level of winning or losing petty arguments. Since there is no understanding of facts involved, no practical progress in matters or personal inner growth will ever result from it.

'Ideals' and 'reality' are often spoken of as opposing concepts. However, the only people who can get closer to any kind of 'ideal' are those who have tried to correctly understand the 'reality' right in front of them.

And in order to advance such understanding, one needs the strength to endure the discomfort of admitting that 'my current way of thinking might be wrong' or 'there might be a reality that does not fit my values'.

Even if it is unpleasant, try to understand; it is for your own sake.

Here, if we look back at the point about 'effort versus talent' mentioned at the beginning, the perspective of distinguishing between 'things that can be changed' and 'things that cannot be changed' emerges. Noticing such a perspective is what advances the process of 'thinking' and 'understanding'.

If 'talent' is something that cannot be changed, then putting in 'effort' in a field where you happen not to be gifted with 'talent' is unlikely to yield very good results. If that is the case, a strategy of 'carefully considering and choosing the field in which you should compete' emerges. You have gained a new tool for dealing with reality.

Whether a student or a working professional, there is likely no one who has never struggled with career choices. It seems there is also no one who has never struggled with their own 'incompetence' or 'lack of efficiency' in areas such as work, hobbies, or private relationships. Aptitude definitely exists. Furthermore, not limited to 'talent,' most things in this world are composed of 'things that cannot be changed by one's own power'.

In other words, the content considered in this article can be applied not only when examining the fruitless arguments that unfold on social media, but also to your own more personal struggles.

Stop believing and stop asserting. Above all else, you should seek to understand the facts.

Needless to say, it is a very tedious process, and it is not always enjoyable. That is precisely why everyone avoids doing it. Even so, the only time you have a chance to resolve the practical challenges you face and the deep-seated inner anguish you carry is when you try to understand them.

Related Books

Regarding the point of 'abandoning empty arguments and starting to live your own life,' I think about it in detail in the following book.

Also, while there are countless genres in this world filled with 'nothing but wishful thinking and assumptions,' one representative example is 'investment.' Regarding this, I have also published a book that explains professional economic knowledge in an easy-to-understand way using common-sense logic.

Related Articles

• The Theory That Extreme Arguments Are Always Wrong (2024.2.2)

• Effort Is Triggered by Circumstances (2024.6.1)

• Ghosts and Lovers (2024.6.24)

• So What If 'There Are People Suffering More Than You'? (2024.7.17)