David McRaney - How Minds Change, Intellectual Humility & Why We Need to Argue

David McRaney is a science journalist, psychology nerd, and host of the popular podcast "You Are Not So Smart." What started as a blog in 2009 became an internationally bestselling book and a long-running exploration of self-delusion, cognitive bias, and the psychology of belief. He is also the author of "How Minds Change" — a fascinating deep dive into the science of beliefs, opinions, and persuasion that fundamentally changed how David himself thinks about thinking.In this conversation, we explore what beliefs actually are and how the mind develops them through assimilation and accommodation, whether objective reality is something we can ever truly access, and why your beliefs are not as much your own as you think they are.We get into how intellect can actually hinder our ability to change our minds, why you can't separate reason from emotion, how to transform pointless debates into genuinely fruitful conversations, and what to avoid when trying to change someone's mind — and what to do instead.We also explore the self illusion, confirmation bias, how social media traps us in echo chambers, why we need to argue, and whether there is a form of knowing that exists beyond reason and belief entirely.A rich and practically grounded conversation for anyone interested in the psychology of belief, critical thinking, and what it actually takes to change minds — including your own.🔗 LINKS & RESOURCES 🔗David's personal site You Are Not So Smart podcast How Minds Change — in-depth book summary How to Have Impossible Conversations — Peter Boghossian & James Lindsay The Enigma of Reason — Hugo Mercier🕰️ TIMESTAMPS 🕰️0:00 - Introduction2:09 - What are beliefs?7:59 - How the mind develops through assimilation and accommodation14:53 - Is there an objective reality?18:23 - Is it possible to be agnostic?19:52 - Why your beliefs are not your own25:03 - The self illusion29:26 - How intellect can hinder our ability to change our minds34:58 - An exercise to improve critical thinking and intellectual humility36:44 - Why you can't separate reason from emotion40:09 - How to transform pointless debates into fruitful conversations43:50 - Things to avoid when trying to change someone's mind — and what to do instead56:42 - How writing "How Minds Change" changed David's mind1:03:54 - Why we need to argue1:06:23 - How social media traps us in echo chambers1:10:32 - David shares a personal belief most of his social circle wouldn't agree with1:12:17 - Jared Diamond on beliefs1:13:20 - Deep down we all have the same values — going beyond polarization1:18:05 - Is there a knowing that is beyond reason or belief?1:23:11 - David shares the concept of his next book*Subscribe to my YouTube channel to watch the video versions of the Elevating Consciousness Podcast *Subscribe to the Insighter Substack to get in-depth articles on the theory and practice of human transformation through a post-conventional