I found this linked article interesting, on why people establish illogical beliefs and why they continue to hold onto them, even when faced with significant evidence that such beliefs are not based on logic.

Below is one interesting statement I cut out:

""We need to be clear that the overall purpose of understanding the drivers of beliefs in pseudoscience or alternative beliefs is not to ridicule, but to understand.The "Ha ha ha, aren't you dumb" approach, common among some sceptics and critical thinkers, wins few arguments. It might feel easy to triumphantly declare one way of looking at the world is superior to another, but fail to note that some people get enormous purpose and meaning from the way they do.""

Why clever people believe in silly things