I’m aware of that and it’s a feature of American democracy that I think is admirable but I think we’re talking about slightly different questions. This ties back into the ‘but somebody would have noticed’ problem again. The fact that a small but passionate minority has been trying for years to convince everyone else that 9/11 is a conspiracy suggests that the currently available information isn’t sufficient to convince the broader public of their theories. In the absence of some game-changing new evidence there is little reason to suppose that I would be more convincing than the existing truthers. If I studied the evidence and became convinced the truthers were right there is no particular reason to suppose I would have any better luck convincing the rest of the population than they have. Overthrowing the government is possible with sufficient popular support but currently it appears that that support could only be obtained with dramatic new evidence.
I’m saying I prioritize things which I can take meaningful individual action over. Some contrarian truths can be useful to believe without needing to convince a majority or even significant minority of the population of them. In fact, some contrarian truths are most profitable when few other people believe them.
I’m aware of that and it’s a feature of American democracy that I think is admirable but I think we’re talking about slightly different questions. This ties back into the ‘but somebody would have noticed’ problem again. The fact that a small but passionate minority has been trying for years to convince everyone else that 9/11 is a conspiracy suggests that the currently available information isn’t sufficient to convince the broader public of their theories. In the absence of some game-changing new evidence there is little reason to suppose that I would be more convincing than the existing truthers. If I studied the evidence and became convinced the truthers were right there is no particular reason to suppose I would have any better luck convincing the rest of the population than they have. Overthrowing the government is possible with sufficient popular support but currently it appears that that support could only be obtained with dramatic new evidence.
I’m saying I prioritize things which I can take meaningful individual action over. Some contrarian truths can be useful to believe without needing to convince a majority or even significant minority of the population of them. In fact, some contrarian truths are most profitable when few other people believe them.