At The Plenary, we used to believe that by helping scientists become better communicators, we could build meaningful bridges between science and people who weren’t particularly interested in it. For years we toured university campuses and built our name on the importance of “outreach”.

But we were wrong.

We were stuck in a common way of thinking that many researchers call the “deficit model”. It’s the idea that people don't support or incorporate science into their beliefs because of a lack of knowledge, and that giving them more information will fix that. The research shows that model doesn’t work – or at least, not on its own. People don’t form beliefs based solely on what we know or don’t know. We form them based on our identities, the social influences around us, our emotions, experiences, and imaginations. By the time we become adults, what we believe is rarely based solely on what we know. And what we learn is rarely based solely on the evidence we encounter. It’s much more often a matter of changing our minds.

A lot of the systems that surround us were designed to solve different problems or serve different values than the ones we need today, yet we have a hard time letting go. Most of us have strongly established worldviews and beliefs, and these can become obstacles for new information. Our culture sends mixed messages about openness. It’s an insult to call someone “closed-minded”, yet we’re also taught to value conviction and certainty over fluidity and changing our minds.

We all love the idea of being open, but if we want to make it a reality, we have to get a lot more comfortable with the discomfort that comes with it.