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"The problem is fooling ourselves into being more certain than we can be. " I want to thank you for saying something I have been having trouble putting into wo
by bestnameever 9y ago
"The problem is fooling ourselves into being more certain than we can be. "
I want to thank you for saying something I have been having trouble putting into words. I'm not sure if it is me or whether something has changed recently with discourse on the internet but I am coming across more and more people speaking as thought they are an Authority of a subject, while simultaneously posting complete incorrect information.
- psyc 9y agoI can barely even stand to read threads here anymore, if the topic is something I'm very knowledgeable about. So many intermediate-level folks making way overconfident assertions that are way off base, or completely unaware of the state of the art. And it's virtually guaranteed that if I was foolish enough to spend time replying with corrections, they'd try to waste my whole afternoon arguing with me. I wish some of these overconfident statement-makers understood they and this community would be better off if they asked questions instead.
- xstartup 9y agoAs someone who is doing exactly what you recommend. Most of my questions go answered. It seems people are going perform actions which bring them attention.
- danso 9y agoIf you are an expert/outlier for a given topic, wouldn't you generally expect (in an open forum) that the majority of people speaking/opining on the topic will sound dumb/basic relative to what you know?
- jamesrcole 9y ago(I'm not the person you're replying to) It's not their level of knowledge, it's them having a high level of conviction when they have no grounds to have such a high level of conviction.
- psyc 9y agoExactly. Their confidence not only helps to spread misinformation, but also signals to me that if I offer corrections, they'll argue with me down to the last pedantic toe-hold they can win. No thank you.