Attacking Self-Identity and the Identity of Others

A major part of astronomers and astrophysicists identity is their beliefs. So when I point out that stellar evolution is planet formation, I attack their identity. This just isn't about simple information that can be corrected easily, like, oh I measured this cut out piece of plywood wrong, time to re-measure and make sure it will fit... No, no, no, no, no. This is MUCH MUCH BIGGER.

This is much, much deeper than I thought it was, as my innocence at assuming ideas can change is coming in layers, there is yet another layer of understanding human psyche that I have reached that is far beyond what I could have ever been taught in school. I am attacking the very identity of an astronomer by sharing the discovery that planets are actually ancient stars. I am attacking not just everything they know, but who they are as PEOPLE. I am saying that their entire existence is a giant, fat lie.

Star https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star
Planet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planet

Stellar evolution https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellar_evolution
Planet formation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nebular_hypothesis#Formation_of_planets

This is by far the most incredible understanding I could have ever hoped for. But, it is also by far the most totally frustrating thing as well. I'm slowly coming to terms (its been over 8 years now) how pervasive the issue is. When it comes to major discoveries, you are attacking the very identity of people who hold contradictory beliefs.

It is not as simple as, oh we made a simple mistake. Oh no no no. It is attacking the very essence of what it means to be an astronomer. When you have adopted a belief since you were a child and you kept it as a part of your being for your whole life, and everybody reinforces the belief, you will not change it. Your identity is permanently set, forever until the day you die.  It is almost impossible to change a person's beliefs.

Astronomers who are alive today will never understand this discovery. Ever. They are too far conditioned into a major lie, a lie so big that only a handful of people on the planet have voiced their opinion on how wrong it is.

When your identity as a person is based on a deception, it is Earth shattering to have that deception removed. It can possibly make people succumb to serious life altering changes that can negatively impact their well-being. I have to now consider this as very important as I grow with this understanding. I just can't share it with everybody, they have to figure it out themselves. They have to find it in themselves, naturally and slowly. 

In other words, explaining it well and laying out the argument is just surface level stuff. This discovery alters the very fundamental notions of a person's self-identity.

I have noticed this in my own life. Literally everything I see now is viewed in a completely different light, from the soil and dirt on the ground, to what life really is, to what the Moon is and its rich past, to what rocks really are, to what civilization itself is, to why there is water falling from the sky, and why the Earth has days and spins at a specific rate. It has all been flipped inside out and upside down due to the discovery that stellar evolution is planet formation.

Nothing is the same. It is like I am seeing the world with the eyes of a completely new person, even though I am the same person. It is unreal, and ongoing, and has been like this for 8+ years.