>Did we really just make guesses and call them truth until the 1600s? It does seem that way! There may be a Dunning-Krueger selection bias at work here - peopl

>Did we really just make guesses and call them truth until the 1600s? It does seem that way! There may be a Dunning-Krueger selection bias at work here - people who admitted ignorance were not remembered, while people who confidently asserted things were treated as authorities. Religious institution surely bears some blame in Western culture - notions such as "skepticism" and "seeing for yourself" were culturally suppressed for nearly 2000 years.