>> and when that individual is not open to those factual shortcomings.

> That's when you should play the part of being stubborn and close-minded yourself, if this is what it takes to ensure that your points are heard.

Do you honestly believe that this is an effective technique in spreading your ideas?

While I cannot 100% agree with 0815test's statements (mainly because I don't see discussion as a win/lose battle, counting points, cutting losses...), there is in fact a certain motivation to take the stubborn position. When you look at the real world examples of people who successfully spread their ideas, unfortunately quite often there will be a certain degree of stubborness. It might be called different names - determination, believing in one's goals, but the effect is the same - at a certain point they will refuse to accept an alternative idea, even without any hard data. And by doing that, they might earn a social position that allows them to spread the ideas among many. Sometimes they even turn out to be right, sometimes not, but it was the aura of close-minded belief in themselves that brought them followers. Honestly, I'm a little disappointed that it works like this, because I would really prefer if deliberate polite factual discussion was always the norm.

I didn’t downvote you, but I also don’t agree with the methodology- it doesn’t seem conducive to progress.