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TC Manning's avatar

Mark Twain wrote about this back over 100 years ago in 'Corn-pone Opinions' http://www.paulgraham.com/cornpone.html

Most relevant passage:

A political emergency brings out the corn-pone opinion in fine force in its two chief varieties -- the pocketbook variety, which has its origin in self-interest, and the bigger variety, the sentimental variety -- the one which can't bear to be outside the pale; can't bear to be in disfavor; can't endure the averted face and the cold shoulder; wants to stand well with his friends, wants to be smiled upon, wants to be welcome, wants to hear the precious words, "He's on the right track!" Uttered, perhaps by an ass, but still an ass of high degree, an ass whose approval is gold and diamonds to a smaller ass, and confers glory and honor and happiness, and membership in the herd. For these gauds many a man will dump his life-long principles into the street, and his conscience along with them. We have seen it happen. In some millions of instances.

And of course, now that Twitter exists everyone must treat everything as a political emergency.

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Razib Khan's avatar

Some of this behavior exists in science now.

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