As an ex-member of a cult put it: "The last thing you want to tell someone who is brainwashed is that they are brainwashed." And this applies to any attempt to 'convert' someone to your point of view. I find I'm always out there trying to make converts to some new idea I happen to be interested in. And I'm very alert to people trying to convert me. The one area where I'm open- something I haven't heard about before- the weird practices of a newly contacted tribe or a piece of cutting edge brain research. If people think they've heard it before they switch off straightaway- one reason for avoiding familiar ground or giving old dogs new names....