I guess maybe it requires spending some time on what actually is "belief," but I don't think most people actually believe the nonsense they spout. I think they believe they are suppose to believe certain things. Or they WANT to believe certain things, because the implications of the alternatives terrify them. But they work to manipulate others into supporting the bad ideas almost as though they can change reality by doing so. If others "believe" with them they can at least feel like they are hiding from reality.
Discussion
I think you give them more credit than they deserve - you are the examiner and truth seeker type, they are just not thinking all this through at all. You are making them into conspirators when they are just reacting but not the self examining types Ha, I don’t know shit, ya wore me out man 😂
What I think Jeff is eluding to here is in this very scenario. He could have not mentioned his thoughts so as to not illicit your response. To avoid possible drama or negative reactions. Instead, he stayed true to himself and spoke his mind.
You can see fear in most people when you bring up topics where the reality is a fairly obvious thing that most people don't want to see. You are correct that they do not think about things, but they make an actual effort to avoid thinking about them because they see the thoughts as evil or destructive or some such nonsense. It's an active evasion that generally produces angry reactions over trivial things.
There are actually stories about this very phenomenon from scammy marketing semenars. People go looking for some miracle solution to some problem, some guy in audience asks the obvious question that invalidates everything being said, many in audience buy the product anyway. When asked why they purchased, they say they wanted the "solution" to all of their problems & they knew if they went home & thought too much about what the "negative" audience member had said they would lose their motivation. They want their belief to change reality. Most people are actively lying & evading reality & they all have a dim awareness of what they are doing.
As long as you realize, just like Dunning Kruger, that what annoys you is a human thing, not a them thing or those dopey folks thing - we all fall for our own shit, but we noticed their shit. 😀
Sure, living in accordance with reality requires constant vigilance against our own preconceived notions.