I try to make up my own mind, not assume the prevailing wisdom (or the conspiracy guys) are right.
My basic instinct is “prove it”. I am at heart a contrarian. It has served me well in investing, and other areas.
It’s important to know when a belief is based on personal opinion, facts, or just taking for granted what others say as truth.
The only thing a 10 year old science text book is good for is a doorstop.....My Geology professor told me that one, and it’s true. Yes there are some things that never change like aerodynamic lift characteristics, but the problem is text books are not simply filled with known facts, they are also filled with supposition, and deduction that is constantly being corrected - The Scientific process at work!
However, when we cease to look critically at prevailing theories, we are not doing science anymore, we are doing religion.
Unfortunately, way too many science types are on the “gravy train” of government grants....it’s polluted many disciplines. I know - I worked supporting their tools (supercomputers) for years....I have seen the inside of the sausage factory that is computer modeling......
Well said.
The world will be a much duller place when we know as much about paleontology as we do about aerodynamics.