I may have been too harsh on the skeptics, some of whom occasionally do attack nonsense in a way that riles up not just crackpots, but also some highly respectable and even academically accredited ideologues and charlatans. However, the problem I see is the main thrust of the movement, which assumes that dangerous nonsense that should be attacked and debunked is practically always purveyed and followed by people outside the official, respectable, accredited mainstream, with the implicit assumption that the latter is maybe imperfect, but still without any deep and horrendous flaws, and in matters where it produces strong consensus, we have nothing much to worry about.
This is where my Titanic analogy comes in. When I read about skeptics debunking people like, say, Uri Geller or Erich von Daeniken, clearly I have no objection to the substance of their work—on the contrary. However, if such people are left unchecked, it’s not like they will tomorrow be awarded high places in the government and the academia, and be given the power to propagandize their views with high official authority, both in classrooms and in mass media that would cite them as authorities, to write laws and regulations based on their delusions, to promote (and aggressively impose) their views through international institutions and foreign policy, etc., etc., with all the disastrous consequences that may follow from that. Therefore, shouldn’t a rational person be more concerned with the possible delusions of people who do have such power and authority? They are the ones presently in charge of steering the ship, after all, and it’s not like there aren’t any icebergs around.
Of course, if you believe that the official institutions that produce academic consensus and respectable mainstream public opinion are generally OK and not causing any ongoing (or potential future) disasters, clearly these concerns are baseless. But are you really so sure that this optimism is based on a realistic appraisal of the situation?
I may have been too harsh on the skeptics, some of whom occasionally do attack nonsense in a way that riles up not just crackpots, but also some highly respectable and even academically accredited ideologues and charlatans. However, the problem I see is the main thrust of the movement, which assumes that dangerous nonsense that should be attacked and debunked is practically always purveyed and followed by people outside the official, respectable, accredited mainstream, with the implicit assumption that the latter is maybe imperfect, but still without any deep and horrendous flaws, and in matters where it produces strong consensus, we have nothing much to worry about.
This is where my Titanic analogy comes in. When I read about skeptics debunking people like, say, Uri Geller or Erich von Daeniken, clearly I have no objection to the substance of their work—on the contrary. However, if such people are left unchecked, it’s not like they will tomorrow be awarded high places in the government and the academia, and be given the power to propagandize their views with high official authority, both in classrooms and in mass media that would cite them as authorities, to write laws and regulations based on their delusions, to promote (and aggressively impose) their views through international institutions and foreign policy, etc., etc., with all the disastrous consequences that may follow from that. Therefore, shouldn’t a rational person be more concerned with the possible delusions of people who do have such power and authority? They are the ones presently in charge of steering the ship, after all, and it’s not like there aren’t any icebergs around.
Of course, if you believe that the official institutions that produce academic consensus and respectable mainstream public opinion are generally OK and not causing any ongoing (or potential future) disasters, clearly these concerns are baseless. But are you really so sure that this optimism is based on a realistic appraisal of the situation?