[quote=@NightinGem]

I've never been able to understand that; if someone has evidence my opinion is wrong, then shouldn't I change it? Even if I'm upset about it? Facts supersede opinion. I also cannot understand the idea of people being unable to place themselves in others' shoes, hence why I use the term empathy instead of sympathy. It's rather funny, the only situations where I can't put myself in others' shoes are situations where they refuse to do it themselves, and of course also the denial of objective fact. 
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You would think it would work that way but that isn't what the evidence would suggest. People invest their identity in their opinions and they don't easily give it up. Even in cases where your opinion is made manifestly untrue by new evidence, there is still a part of you that immediately denies it. I suspect it varies with the importance you attach to a particular opinion but I cant claim to be an expert in the field.