How we know what we know: utter denial in human beings

[Undertoad]

My thinking on this is affected by an NPR piece I listened to about two years ago. There was this guy who was half black as his mother had sex with a gentleman of color. Mom however steadfastly denied it to the kid all his life. She told him that there was American Indian in their bloodline and his darkish appearance was due to that. His belief became so steadfast that even when presented with scientific evidence that showed the contrary, he refused to believe it for years and years, and lived in the denial state. That denial state is fascinating to me. Things that are not true, but are believed anyway because to not believe them is psychologically difficult.