The Ego Test
Rationality does not solve itself; it requires a level of self-awareness as the first step, a willingness to recognise one's own limitations, and to be humble enough to admit when you're wrong. So, as a final challenge, I'll challenge you to a test.
The Ego Test: If you cannot name ten fundamental beliefs you have changed in your lifetime, you likely fall into one of three categories—(a) you lack self-awareness, (b) you haven't engaged in deep thinking, or (c) your ego prevents you from admitting when you were wrong—all a form of ego. To be clear, I am not referring to trivial errors—like believing you got a test answer right in school only to later realise you were mistaken, or changing your mind on the opinion of pineapple on pizza. That is mere correction, not a fundamental change in your worldview. Many people claim to be open-minded, but true open-mindedness isn't just about tolerating new ideas—it's about updating your beliefs when reality demands it.
If someone can't think of ten fundamental beliefs they've updated, they likely don't engage in real self-reflection, because they assume that almost everything they consume is true, because their judgement is infallible—this is the worst type of ego.
If someone claims that they "don't think about things deeply", that itself is an ego-driven statement; it suggests a lack of depth in reasoning; they assume that what they consume on the surface is true, and their judgement of it was correct, and does not require assessing whether belief in such a thing is rational or not.
The reality is that most people will fail this test. We can discuss irrationality endlessly, but the first step toward rationality is not simply engaging with logic and evidence—it is having the self-awareness to recognise one's own biases. If someone lacks the capability to do so, then this entire discussion becomes meaningless. Abstract rationality is not an inherent trait; it requires the ability to detach from the distortion of emotional certainty—a distortion that convinces people their deeply held beliefs must be true simply because they feel true. Most people will not develop this level of self-awareness, not because they are incapable, but because they have no incentive to challenge the certainty that brings them emotional and existential comfort.
The fallacy is assuming that constantly updating one's beliefs means someone is weak-minded or lacks conviction. In reality, the opposite is true. The amount of knowledge a person can gain is practically infinite—If someone never changes their mind, that means they're either not learning anything new or they're rejecting new knowledge to protect their ego. The more new knowledge you encounter, the more likely you'll find contradictions in your previous thinking—which means updating is a natural byproduct of learning.