Do you understand that
The moment you start to introduce
New material for the consideration of the typical audience,
The minds of most of them begin immediately to
Look for a reason not to consider it?

They are stingy with their time and energy,
And defensive of their own intellectual statuses quo.
They don’t want to think anything new,
Discover anything new,
Or even wonder anything new.
They are tired. Lithified.
And they’re certainly not going to be excited
About rearranging the furniture in their minds
If it should prove that they’ve got things out of place.

So if you’re bringing new information to the table—
Or even if you’re disproving old information—
They’ll be looking for a reason to shut you down.
And in their miserly routines, almost any reason will do,
Even if they have to make one up.

And perhaps you’ll be successful from time to time
At chipping away at such minds,
Until they finally relent and do the work of reality.
But you’ll find the best return on your investment
By locating those outliers whose minds are not
Already shut down, and have no inclination
To try to shut yours down, too.