The intellectually compulsive are natural critics. You see something wrong in an argument, and you argue against it. The natural stopping point in this process is when you don’t find significant problems with the theory, and that is more likely for a fringe theory that other’s don’t bother to critique. When no one is helping you find the flaws, it’s less likely you’ll find them. You’ll win arguments, at least by your evaluation, because you are familiar with their arguments and can show flaws, but your argument is unfamiliar to them, so they can’t show you flaws in your thinking. No one knows the counter, no one has spent the time analyzing your fringe idea. They likely will still dismiss your “wacky” idea, and conclude they won the argument by their dismissal of your position out of hand, but that only makes you feel more confident in your conclusion and in yourself, as it’s apparent to you that they have on counter to your argument.
The problem is, you’re not right just because people can’t prove you wrong. If you have a fringe theory, you need to be aware that it has not been properly vetted by others around you.
Not everything is signaling.
The intellectually compulsive are natural critics. You see something wrong in an argument, and you argue against it. The natural stopping point in this process is when you don’t find significant problems with the theory, and that is more likely for a fringe theory that other’s don’t bother to critique. When no one is helping you find the flaws, it’s less likely you’ll find them. You’ll win arguments, at least by your evaluation, because you are familiar with their arguments and can show flaws, but your argument is unfamiliar to them, so they can’t show you flaws in your thinking. No one knows the counter, no one has spent the time analyzing your fringe idea. They likely will still dismiss your “wacky” idea, and conclude they won the argument by their dismissal of your position out of hand, but that only makes you feel more confident in your conclusion and in yourself, as it’s apparent to you that they have on counter to your argument.
The problem is, you’re not right just because people can’t prove you wrong. If you have a fringe theory, you need to be aware that it has not been properly vetted by others around you.