One thing I’ve noticed is that in nearly any controversy where the adherents of the heterodox position show signs of basic mental stability, the arguments for heterodoxy are stronger than the arguments for orthodoxy.
Is this true? A priori I could see this go either way, and my personal experiences don’t add much evidence here (I can’t recall many controversies where I’ve probed deeply enough to conclusively weigh orthodoxy against heterodoxy).
A weaker statement I’m more sure of: the arguments for orthodoxy one hears from most people are weaker than the arguments for heterodoxy, because most people have little reason to actually look up whatever factual basis the orthodoxy might have. (I’ve seen someone make this point somewhere on Yvain’s blog but can’t remember who.) For example, I haven’t bothered to look up the precise scientific arguments that’d justify my belief in plate tectonics, but a shrinking earth theorist probably has, if only to launch a counterattack on them. (Corollary: I’d have a good chance of losing an argument with a shrinking earth theorist, even though plate tectonics is, well, true.)
Of course, this means the supporters of orthodoxy are in the worst position to judge when they should be updating their position based on new evidence.
Is this true? A priori I could see this go either way, and my personal experiences don’t add much evidence here (I can’t recall many controversies where I’ve probed deeply enough to conclusively weigh orthodoxy against heterodoxy).
A weaker statement I’m more sure of: the arguments for orthodoxy one hears from most people are weaker than the arguments for heterodoxy, because most people have little reason to actually look up whatever factual basis the orthodoxy might have. (I’ve seen someone make this point somewhere on Yvain’s blog but can’t remember who.) For example, I haven’t bothered to look up the precise scientific arguments that’d justify my belief in plate tectonics, but a shrinking earth theorist probably has, if only to launch a counterattack on them. (Corollary: I’d have a good chance of losing an argument with a shrinking earth theorist, even though plate tectonics is, well, true.)
Of course, this means the supporters of orthodoxy are in the worst position to judge when they should be updating their position based on new evidence.