So say we all.
SO SAY WE ALL!
this post was submitted on 23 Mar 2025
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Showerthoughts
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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. The most popular seem to be lighthearted clever little truths, hidden in daily life.
Here are some examples to inspire your own showerthoughts:
- Both “200” and “160” are 2 minutes in microwave math
- When you’re a kid, you don’t realize you’re also watching your mom and dad grow up.
- More dreams have been destroyed by alarm clocks than anything else
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- The entire showerthought must be in the title
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- If your topic is in a grey area, please phrase it to emphasize the fascinating aspects, not the dramatic aspects. You can do this by avoiding overly politicized terms such as "capitalism" and "communism". If you must make comparisons, you can say something is different without saying something is better/worse.
- A good place for politics is c/politicaldiscussion
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In theory there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is.
"Millions of flies can't be wrong!"
The flies aren't wrong. Eating shit is good FOR THEM but it would not be good for humans
That raises the question of if you're another fly or another human.
Speak for yourself
So say we all!
Consensus is the instinctive collective response of the mind to the world whereas truth is its regimented output. This is most obvious in the evolution of language, the truth in this instance is things like definitions, syntax and grammar but this is all after the event and looking back explanation. The real growth of language is from consensus. The definition of the word gay in original form by etymology was carefree and happy which is it's truth but by consensus of usage it was altered to mean homosexuality, which is an entirely separate definition. The consensus idea very easily overran that of truth and became what is real.
Yeah, you are right. Too many people in the sciences believe this as well. Science is about repeatability and falsifiable hypothesis...
Isn’t it the case that “consensus” in the sciences is just a shorthand for “we agree that this is most likely to be true”?
If I were conversing with a scientist and I asked about possibility x, and they disagreed with it for the reason that “the consensus is…”, I would assume that they are not saying possibility x is wrong, but rather that they would need really good evidence to agree that x is correct.
I don't remember the exact quote, but I love the thing about "the thing about science is that it doesn't matter whether you believe it or not."
Yes but it's worth pointing out that peer review is also a form of consensus-building. It's not a perfect process, but it's pretty workable if everyone's pulling in the same direction.
Peer review is a sanity check, but many incorrect theories disproven later passed peer review. I only point out science as a the one group of people who should be above appeals to authority or consensus but they are still very influenced by it.
Kinda my point. Even the scientific process is imperfect. It's definitely workable, but all our theories are less "really real" and more a highly refined consensus that is only valid while we lack a better one. All firm beliefs require a leap of faith, however small.
The scientific method states quite clearly that you can never prove anything, only disprove. Failure to disprove warrants publication to try to get other people to disprove. But it's still rarely properly applied, especially when you get further away from theoretical research.
Expert consensus has a different role than the OP. It’s a statement made by people who are intimately familiar with a body of evidence and are consolidating the many narratives of that evidence into clear statements.
Yes, it’s not true merely because they say it’s true. It’s most likely true because these experts have analyzed the thousand tiny individual pieces of evidence out there and have determined they are all pointing to the same key conclusions. That’s not an argumentum ad populum, that’s analysis and interpretation. Ignoring that because you saw some TikTok video is the actual fallacy (argument from authority.)
I mean, that's just common sense