4 ms·
I'm not too surprised at this. I think this is a great case study on groupthink. I've observed groupthink / "the outside is the enemy" behaviour in several gro
by lincolnq 17y ago
I'm not too surprised at this. I think this is a great case study on groupthink.
I've observed groupthink / "the outside is the enemy" behaviour in several groups that I've participated in. It can be caused by one person setting the tone of the group (e.g., by making jokes), and then everyone else follows along. In this case, I could imagine a joke about skeptics, or perhaps someone misguidedly suggesting it was the group's "mission" to convince people that climate change was a big problem to be fixed.
Setting that sort of tone, especially early in the group's formation, usually quickly blossoms into an us-vs.-them mentality. Sometimes that's ok, but if you are trying to claim that you are objective, it's highly counterproductive -- and the worst part is that it's hard to realize how harmful groupthink can be when you are genuinely trying to learn something.
Anyway, if you want to reduce this effect in groups you're in, you have to have a sharp groupthink detector and you have to be fearless about saying stuff that's counter to the group's tone. I've defused groupthink situations by visibly becoming offended when I recognize that groupthink is occurring: it's usually fairly easy to explain why you're offended, and (in most kinds of groups) people usually have social pressure to stay away from discussions which will offend others. The problem is that the groupthinky memes can be fun, so you may be seen as a captain buzzkill.
- crux_ 17y agoYet people doing climate science have enemies, and not imagined ones. This is not just group-think conjuring an imaginary "them." This is true regardless of whether you believe in their integrity or not, and as a result they can no longer behave objectively, even if it turns out that their conclusions were reached in a thoroughly objective manner.
- dschobel 17y agoIf the scientists can no longer behave objectively then they've already lost everything.
- jongraehl 17y agoThat's an impractical statement.
- dschobel 17y agoThe scientists' job is specifically to do science and be impartial to the results. How can that possibly be a controversial statement?
- madebylaw 17y agoNo human can possibly behave objectively in all situations. We are constantly under the influence of bias (whether conscious or unconscious).
- crux_ 17y agoIs this true of evolutionary biologists? After all, they too have had to behave in a highly non-objective manner due to attacks from external enemies...
- dschobel 17y agoWhat behavior are you referring to? I've never heard any allegations of cooking data or data hiding by any respected evolutionary biologist.
- crux_ 17y agoEvolution-related political activism, for example. Hardly "objective." Edit to add another pertinent example: Choosing research subjects specifically to debunk their critics.
- sp332 17y agoJust because they're really out to get you doesn't mean you're not paranoid.