But I find that simpler admonitions, such as the above, serve me much better in real life.
My point is simply that if you want to know what’s correct, you should scrutinize every idea hard, with every correctness-checking tool you have available. The content of the idea should carry much more weight in your evaluation than the source of the idea, whether it’s your favorite author, your teacher, a highly-regarded figure, your best friend, or your hated enemy. It may not be possible to eliminate the effects of affiliation entirely, but I think it’s a good goal.
But I find that simpler admonitions, such as the above, serve me much better in real life.
My point is simply that if you want to know what’s correct, you should scrutinize every idea hard, with every correctness-checking tool you have available. The content of the idea should carry much more weight in your evaluation than the source of the idea, whether it’s your favorite author, your teacher, a highly-regarded figure, your best friend, or your hated enemy. It may not be possible to eliminate the effects of affiliation entirely, but I think it’s a good goal.
I agree with this but tend to reject the phrase, “think for yourself,” out of hand because it doesn’t mean anything without clarification.
Coincidentally, I just read Cached Thoughts. That may explain my negative reaction.
I don’t really have anything to add to the point you made.