That's an interesting view. Absolute certainty, though, can be a very limiting thing. That, by the way, is the opinion of Professor Lord Robert Winston, a man well known for both is scientific mind and his faith in a God he can't see or test in a laboratory.
Personally, I prefer to be less certain and more open. The more certain you are, less able you are to learn new things. After all, if you already KNOW, why bother to learn?
I don't think stubbornnes can be quantified, personally, but I'm not actually that stubborn about my beliefs. I'm stubborn about my subjective experiences, because they're MY subjective experiences and I'm the one who experiened them subjectively, yes, but I try to keep an open mind on most things. I find that having an open mind makes life a lot more enjoyable, but maybe that's just my subjetive experience.
Regarding John Edward, I'm well aware of the techniques of cold reading, of accusations of cheating by him and his staff, of tricky editing on his show, etc.
It doesn't have anything to do with me or my subjective experiences, so I haven't invested a great deal of emotional or intellectual energy into him or his dealings. I don't feel the need to save anyone from believing in him, because I figure they can get on Google, too, if they want to, and they can believe what they wish. My opinion on him is pretty much immaterial.
So, this thing about trying to correct or un-delude or show people the error of their beliefs, I've seen in EVERY kind of thing you can imagine, from arguments over very minor points of doctrine within the same religion to trying to talk people out of mainstream religious beliefs through very unusual fringe type beliefs, to belief in the paranormal, to belief in lucky talismans, to belief in just about anything you can think of. I guess I just don't understand the drive to argue with people about what they do or don't believe. So long as it's not hurting them or others, I don't see a problem. If I want to worship the Flying Spaghetti Monster, what's the issue? (I don't worship FSM, by the way; I'm more of a Discordian
).
Personally, I think the "I don't believe anything that can't be proven" attitude is just as limiting as "I believe anything that drifts over my transom". Not accusing anyone here of either of those, by the way. I'm just making an observation in general.