5 ms·

Then all of the greatest scientists in human history were arrogant (by your judgement). So what? Progress and truth are much, much more important than fitting

• quixoticaxolotl 5y ago
  That's not what the parent comment was saying - they're communicating that presuming to know the truth with complete confidence is arrogant, not that actual knowledge of truth (i.e. expertise) is arrogant.
• arubania2 5y ago
  No reasonable scientist has ever claimed that their theory is 100% correct and that it is an objective truth. Scientific theories are merely our best approximations of how the world works. Usually it is the anti-scientific drivel that is full of assertions and absolute statements, which is also what makes it so popular, especially among the less educated crowd. I agree that making progress is of utmost importance, but the concept of truth is much more nuanced and, imo, difficult to define in objective terms.
• dgellow 5y ago
  "I have reasons to believe X" (1) vs "I know the truth X" (2). 1 sounds less arrogant than 2 IMHO and is what I would expect a scientific minded person to say. That makes it way simpler to discuss the actual reasons to believe X, without necessarily going against the individual who believes X.