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> “Likewise, fringe movements in the sciences have long been a part of American society, although, to be sure, there has been a decided uptick over the past few
by hhs 5y ago
> “Likewise, fringe movements in the sciences have long been a part of American society, although, to be sure, there has been a decided uptick over the past few decades. Consider the Flat Earth theory. Despite what you may have heard, Christopher Columbus did not discover that Earth was round; this fact was known since antiquity. (Plato wrote about it.) The notion that Columbus, one of the few knowledgeable mariners who did not quite believe it was a sphere (he thought it was egg-shaped), “discovered” its shape was a creation of the writer Washington Irving, who sought to assign some scientific legitimacy to what was otherwise a colonialist land grab. [5] Yet in the past decade, Flat Earth theory has achieved a certain currency, fueled by YouTube videos and an appetite for contrarian thinking, hyperskepticism, and a yearning for community. [6]”
That last sentence suggests intrinsic motivation. Sometimes there may also be a business motivation (e.g., economics of the infotainment industry).
- apocalypstyx 5y agoThe question might be whether intrinsic motivation is inescapable. "From the start of this book I have had occasion, in various contexts, to refer to the overwhelming elation felt by scientists at the moment of discovery, an elation of a kind which only a scientist can feel and which science alone can evoke in him. In the very first chapter I quoted the famous passage in which Kepler announced the discovery of his Third Law: ‘...nothing holds me; I will indulge my sacred fury...’1 The outbreak of such emotions in the course of discovery is well known, but they are not thought to affect the outcome of discovery. Science is regarded as objectively established in spite of its passionate origins. It should be clear by this time that I dissent from that belief; and I have now come to the point at which I want to deal explicitly with passions in science. I want to show that scientific passions are no mere psychological by-product, but have a logical function which contributes an indispensable element to science. They respond to an essential quality in a scientific statement and may accordingly be said to be right or wrong, depending on whether we acknowledge or deny the presence of that quality in it." --- Michael Polanyi --- Personal Knowledge: Towards a Post-Critical Philosophy, p140
- beloch 5y agoThe thing about flat-earther youtube videos is that they aren't all designed to be seen by other flat-earthers. Some feature utterly idiotic arguments presented in a deliberately smug and arrogant manner designed to infuriate the viewer. People share things they like and agree with, but they also share things that piss them off and make them mad.