This is a Lexicon entry: the mechanism, when it shows up, and the countermeasure. The full correction, with real-world cases and the audit prompt, hasn't been written yet.
When it shows up
Doomsday cult members whose faith deepens after the predicted apocalypse fails to arrive. Political partisans who become more entrenched after fact-checks. Investors who double down after their thesis is challenged. The mechanism: when a belief is central to identity, counter-evidence threatens the self and the self fights back.
Failure mode
Rational debate becomes counterproductive. Evidence-based correction can make things worse. Groups with strong identity-belief fusion become unfalsifiable from the outside. Resources spent on correction are wasted or actively harmful.
Countermeasure
For yourself: build identity around processes (I am someone who updates) rather than conclusions (I am someone who believes X). For others: avoid direct confrontation with identity-linked beliefs; find shared values first. Apply CL-4 (Disconfirming Evidence Search) on your own beliefs before they calcify.
Related traps
Also connected in the map4 more, locked
Also revealed
Entry #111 of 631 in The Lexicon · see the full Lexicon