The choices New Mexicans make–particularly in the ballot box–have always baffled me. We complain about being last in every quality of life measure, but continue to vote the way generations (including deceased) have voted. It’s the very definition of the timeless axion: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” I’ve had this discussion many times, usually with highly educated and erudite frriends and family, and despite my best attempts at presenting logical, sensical reasons for change, all that’s ever accomplished is hurt feelings. It’s become very obvious that opinions and decisions are based on emotion and group affiliation, not necessarily our notion of facts.
Why is it so hard to convince others to change their minds and hearts? That’s a question philosophers, psychologists and even curious hoi polloi like me have pondered over for millennia. Perhaps never has that question been brought to the fore as during recent political events. Sadly, the question takes on even more of a personal bent when you believe someone else’s views betray something inherently rotten about their character—or when someone else believes the same about yours. Rightly or wrongly, we’re wired to believe people’s views are barometers of their moral conscience.
Psychologists have long posited the existence of a confirmation bias which is a tendency to seek out information that confirms our existing views and to avoid information that disconfirms them. Confirmation bias has exploded with the advent of social media. Specific algorithms present information that appeals to our tastes. Finding that information confirms our beliefs and rewards our dopamine receptors. Studies have also shown that when presented with information we don’t like or with which we disagree, our brains literally shut off and ignore it. That accounts for the reason we as humans tend to “hang out” with people who are like us and believe the same things we do. Doing so has the effect of creating an illusion that everyone in the world thinks just like you do, and that people who feel differently are in the minority and, frankly, are wrong.
So why (other than my disagreement with New Mexico’s voting choices) this diatribe? I actually have a friend (that may be hard to believe) who will dine at only a very limited number of restaurants. These few eateries satisfy his “eat to live” bias. When it comes to dining, he has no sense of adventure whatsoever. Nothing you can say, no logic you can present will ever change his mind (many have tried). Among his personal biases is the notion that Pizza Hut bakes the very best pizza in the world. Yes, Pizza Hut. To argue otherwise would be risking the terminus of a friendship that is otherwise pretty solid.
For everyone else–those of us constantly looking for the next new bright and shining object–the Duke City has recently experienced the launch of several new and quite good pizza restaurants. You will likely glean my own personal bias toward pizza by reading this missive. Among the “newbies” are Johnny’s Pizza and Tony’s Pizzeria. Though both are arguably (for those like my friend who will disagree) very good. Tony’s early success even warranted a mention in a New Mexico Magazine article titled “3 Pizzerias Heating Up The Scene.” (The other two pizzerias, by the way, are Tender Fire Kitchen in Santa Fe and Fire and Ice in Silver City.) Tony’s Pizzeria was also spotlighted in a New Mexico Magazine feature titled “Hot Restaurants to Try Right Now.”…