Its beautiful illustrations are paired with an elegant, clever explanation about something called the "backfire effect." Basically, it describes why people double down on their beliefs when presented with contradictory information.*
The cartoon is powerful because we can all relate to that feeling of using facts to inform a heated political debate or sway someone's opinion and getting **where. And that's exactly the problem the comic's author, Matthew Inman, wanted to address, especially in the wake of Donald Trump's election.* Read more...