Both skepticism and dogmatism are counter to science. With too much skepticism, nothing can be believed—not even our own senses. With too much dogmatism, the wisdom of crowds is unquestioned and quickly turns into the madness of crowds.
Science requires a bit of both to be done effectively. Skepticism to drive the questions and low levels of dogmatism (faith) so that you can build on top of acquired knowledge.
(I first heard this in a talk by Peter Thiel)
See also:
- Entrepreneurship often requires greater degrees of dogmatism (conviction) to deal with skepticism.
- Cynicism also runs counter to science, but it’s more of a skepticism that anything changes.
- Richard Hamming’s You and Your Research about doing truly great work in science.
Links to this note
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Holding Two Seemingly Contradictory Ideas in One’s Head
There is tremendous power in being able to simultaneously hold two ideas in one’s head that appear to be in opposition. Contradictions can create boundaries on thoughts—it’s usually unpleasant to have cognitive dissonance—and can lead to dogma. I’ve found that being able to stick with it, despite the discomfort, can be very powerful.
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The Quest for Good Explanations Is Error Correcting
The process of seeking out good explanations is error correcting. It is tolerant of dissent with a healthy dose of skepticism and distrust of authority. It means that explanations are rejected when they are contradicted by better explanations.
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Obstinance Is a Boat Whose Rudders Can’t Be Turned
I really like the way Paul Graham characterizes the difference between persistence and obstinance in his essay The Right Kind of Stubborn. Persistence is like a boat that can’t throttle back—it keeps going and gets around obstacles in it’s path at great speed. Obstinance however, is like a boat whose rudders can’t be turned so it keeps going and doesn’t change course despite obstacles i it’s path.
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Science Is True Even If You Don’t Believe in It
The beauty of science is that it’s true even if you don’t believe in it. The scientific method is an incredible discovery for producing objective knowledge which makes it durable to time, opinion, and fashion.