Comment by karaterobot
2 years ago
Gell-Mann amnesia is when you notice that somebody who is writing about something you're an expert in has made critical mistakes, and should not be trusted, but then you go on and trust people writing about topics you don't know as much about, failing to recognize they're probably also making critical mistakes about those other topics. I'm not sure the connection here.
Regarding the comparison between science and folk explanations on the internet, I think it's reasonable to hold science to a higher standard than we hold the general population. If most published research findings are false—as this video claims—and most of what idiots on the internet say is also false, that's neither an equivalence nor a victory for science. On the contrary, it erodes the value of science, both literally and figuratively. Right now we need sources of authority.
It is not black or white. Yes, there are issues. No, it doesn’t mean a random comment on the internet should have as much authority as scientific paper. There is a strong background of anti-intellectualism right now.
The connection with Gell-Mann amnesia is that people overestimate truthiness of what they read online. Combined with reading about [real] issues in science, It might create an impression that scientific findings are relatively at the same level as everything else. My point is even all the troubles science is still a head above despite the perception.