Remember that this isn't only about flat earth.

Once I did a challenge here, where I had to answer 12 questions so people could get to know me better. One of the questions was, "What would be the most surprising scientific discovery imaginable?" And I said that I would be very surprised to find out that the Earth is flat. Sure enough that one tiny part about the Earth being flat turned into a discussion with people who believe differently. So when I saw this, my first thought was here they come!!! Lol

I agree that cognitive dissonance does happen to everyone. In some areas for me, I figure that if I have already looked at all angles of a subject, and have established my belief, there's no longer the need to entertain other perspectives. Maybe because I don't want to feel bad, like @cryptogee said, or burdened with having to prove myself, or maybe just because I'm lazy. 😜

Reading your story, I can imagine how many barriers there must've been before realizing what was really happening and changing your perspective, especially when the information comes from supposedly trusted sources. When I look at my location on my phone, GPS has me a couple blocks away from where I really live, so there's that too... Anyway, glad you enjoyed your trip @tobixen! 🙂