This is what epistemic status tries to make explicit. There’s a difference between serious conjecture and playful speculation. The former, I think, involves cla

This is what epistemic status tries to make explicit. There’s a difference between serious conjecture and playful speculation. The former, I think, involves claiming an amount of status for oneself. People view the latter as the former and attack speculators for having insufficient status. It’s a shame, because speculation can be a useful learning activity/opportunity.