> Isn't that sometimes just the nature of having to prove a different idea in the face of another idea that may be proven? Orthodoxy is a numbers game not nece

> Isn't that sometimes just the nature of having to prove a different idea in the face of another idea that may be proven? Orthodoxy is a numbers game not necessarily an accuracy game. Orthodox opinions may be accurate or inaccurate; what makes them orthodox is that they are held by at least a plurality of people in a given setting. Orthodox ideas have not necessarily been proven and aren't necessarily parsimonious, so they should not necessarily enjoy the privilege of the null hypothesis. Null hypotheses require a lower burden of proof than alternative hypotheses. If an orthodox position was never proven but is simply widely held, it should have the same burden of proof as an alternative hypothesis. However the way orthodoxy works its burden of proof is lower owing to its greater popularity.