One of the joys of getting older is harvesting our wealth of experience (often referred to as wisdom but that seems a bit presumptuous). Over the years we've been blessed, bitten, rewarded, and shamed by life lessons that hopefully we can use to our advantage.
One of those many lessons is the futility of changing people's minds. I am sure you can relate. Think of the classic arms folded stance, a slight negative head shake, lips pursed in a smirk, and the classic "prove it to me!".
I always picture this scenario like the castles of old. The enemy is coming and you pull up the drawbridge, load the moat with hungry alligators, light the fires on the vats of boiling oil, get the archers at ready and send a message to the enemy. "Go ahead, try it!"
The only success stories I've seen come from a slight of hand magician. They can pull off seeming miracles, though it is only a trick.
No, I've been down this road too many times and know better.
The only real message you are conveying with "prove it!" is that you've drawn a line in the sand and dare anyone to cross it.
That's very different than "help me understand".
