When it works it's much more like handing material to someone who is (at least somewhat) cooperating with you in trying to figure out the logical structure of a problem -- pushing the right buttons of insight, so to speak.

Precisely! The only way to really change your mind is to get into a mode where you're actually asking the questions, and genuinely looking for answers. It's the first skill a rationalist (or a mind hacker) has to develop, because it's the only way to bypass motivated reasoning and rationalization.