I asked this question and got some interesting answers. "Have you ever been able to convince a creationist to throw out creationism and accept evolution?"

Have you ever been able to convince a creationist to throw out creationism and accept evolution?

"It does happen. I know of a couple of creationist kids who decided to learn evolution in science classes so they could be more effective in arguing against it. Both soon realized that the theory made perfect sense and that creationism wasn't valid."

-- Sookey

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The problem is not really one of alternate facts. The problem is about either embracing honest doubt and skepticism, or embracing emotional certainty.

Science is all about doubt, while religious beliefs are all about emotional certainty.

As long as a creationist has the idea that emotional certainty is a superior way to think then they will never see any value in the knowledge that science has dug out for us by relentlessly trying to prove its own explanations to be wrong.

-- Regards, John Popelish

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No, I have never met a creationist smart enough to accept reality and honest enough to agree to the possibility he could be wrong. But then again, I tend to avoid that kind of people as much as I can.

-- Vincent G

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Yep. I found one that was willing to go fossil hunting with me and was able to show them how fossil succession worked. It took a year after that, but he finally figured it out.

-- Godless Gazoo

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"Debating creationists on the topic of evolution is rather like trying to play chess with a pigeon — it knocks the pieces over, craps on the board, and flies back to its flock to claim victory." --Scott D. Weitzenhoffer

"Many believers admit that nothing could change their mind about their religious beliefs, which means they are no longer seekers of truth and have become, in essence, mindless religious robots. Religion consistently and effectively discourages introspection and inquiry. That isn't by accident."-- Bob Peters

I've never tried, as I don't associate with idiots and I don't aspire to the position of the idiot whisperer.

-- ANDRE L

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You can't cure stupid.

-- Dorreene

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For most creationists it is a waste of time. They are not bright enough to comprehend reality. The best you can do is prevent them from infecting more children with their lies.

-- trevor

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I encouraged my mother to learn about the subject and she's no longer a YEC. But I can't take the credit for convincing her, I think it was a mixture of Stephen Jay Gould and the Dover trial that did it.

I think it was the blatant dishonesty from the ID side that convinced her you can't trust it's proponents at all.

-- Matt Damon

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Creationists don't have what it takes to accept modern science. They literally have a cognitive defect that prevents them from being able to do it, even in principle.

-- Mandrake

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Yes. I once took someone to a natural history museum. It opened her eyes.

-- Pat C