3 ms·

It's good to keep an open mind both ways, but "skepticism" without either interesting or convincing arguments is IMO just as useless. We all know there is a go

It's good to keep an open mind both ways, but "skepticism" without either interesting or convincing arguments is IMO just as useless. We all know there is a good chance it turns out to be a dud. We all know cold fusion/emdrive/superluminal experiments turned out to be duds. We all know this. I wonder what news do "skeptics" have to bring to the table. Nothing a skeptic has to say changes anything. We are all - except for the handful of actual experts here - amateurs at best, but probably ignorant peasants. Just about anything we have to say about it is just noise. I'd favor the positive noise, but that's just me. Imagine being at a football game: "This game could easily be lost! Ah, see, another pass failed. Don't get your hopes up! Please don't cheer, please wait until the very last moment and then wait another hour to have administrative confirmation. Then wait two weeks. Then you may cheer, but only modestly."

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]
matkoniecz 3y ago
> It's good to keep an open mind both ways, but "skepticism" without either interesting or convincing arguments is IMO just as useless. skepticism is an useful filter > I wonder what news do "skeptics" have to bring to the table. reminder of "We all know there is a good chance it turns out to be a dud. We all know cold fusion/emdrive/superluminal experiments turned out to be duds. We all know this." not everyone knows this
- SanderNL 3y ago
  Thank god for the skeptics. I might have gotten enthused about something. Can you imagine the implications of that? My god, please tell me someone is going to stop me from being mildly entertained before it gets out of hand. Agents of reason, please enlighten us with your eternal negativity so that we may perceive clearly the folly of our excited ways.
- HelloMcFly 3y ago
  > not everyone knows this I actually think far more people know this than done; it wouldn't surprise me if it truly is practically "everyone" on Hacker News. But what is the expectation here? Must every comment thinking about the possibilities or being excited by incremental evidence of support be prefaced with a note of skepticism? Must we engage in such ritualistic behavior in order to be seen as anything other than hopeless scientific romantics? I must pour a bucket of cold water on my own head before feeling even an ounce of optimism? Optimism carries the possible - even likely - cost of disappointment, and in the wrong company can create the same in others. Pessimism is beneficial, but it doesn't have to be worn on one's sleeve at all times lest it sap joy and color from the world. This is a community of enthusiasts, we can be enthusiastic without also being hopeless idiots lurching from one false discovery to the next.

deleted 3y ago

[deleted]

matkoniecz 3y ago

> It's good to keep an open mind both ways, but "skepticism" without either interesting or convincing arguments is IMO just as useless. skepticism is an useful filter > I wonder what news do "skeptics" have to bring to the table. reminder of "We all know there is a good chance it turns out to be a dud. We all know cold fusion/emdrive/superluminal experiments turned out to be duds. We all know this." not everyone knows this

SanderNL 3y ago
Thank god for the skeptics. I might have gotten enthused about something. Can you imagine the implications of that? My god, please tell me someone is going to stop me from being mildly entertained before it gets out of hand. Agents of reason, please enlighten us with your eternal negativity so that we may perceive clearly the folly of our excited ways.
HelloMcFly 3y ago
> not everyone knows this I actually think far more people know this than done; it wouldn't surprise me if it truly is practically "everyone" on Hacker News. But what is the expectation here? Must every comment thinking about the possibilities or being excited by incremental evidence of support be prefaced with a note of skepticism? Must we engage in such ritualistic behavior in order to be seen as anything other than hopeless scientific romantics? I must pour a bucket of cold water on my own head before feeling even an ounce of optimism? Optimism carries the possible - even likely - cost of disappointment, and in the wrong company can create the same in others. Pessimism is beneficial, but it doesn't have to be worn on one's sleeve at all times lest it sap joy and color from the world. This is a community of enthusiasts, we can be enthusiastic without also being hopeless idiots lurching from one false discovery to the next.