Groupthink in Academia

[William Joyce]

VDARE.com: Blog Articles » Bouchard on Groupthink

The strength of this urge to conform can silence even those who have good reason to think the majority is wrong. You’re an expert because all your peers recognize you as such. But if you start to get too far out of line with what your peers believe, they will look at you askance and start to withdraw the informal title of “expert” they have implicitly bestowed on you. Then you’ll bear the less comfortable label of “maverick,” which is only a few stops short of “scapegoat” or “pariah.” …

The academic monocultures referred to by Dr. Bouchard are the kind of thing that sabotages scientific creativity….

What’s wrong with consensuses is not the establishment of a majority view, which is necessary and legitimate, but the silencing of skeptics. “We still have whole domains we can’t talk about,” Dr. Bouchard said, referring to the psychology of differences between races and sexes.

 

[editec]

There's more than a little truth to the above, William.

Of course that is true of every organization known to man, too.

Speaking as one very independent thinker to the other, we both know in our heart of hearts that basically the majority people are fucking sheep.

Most of them just so want to fit in and be accepted by their peers that they'll sign onto whatever insane blather they're told to accept.

 

[William Joyce]

There's more than a little truth to the above, William.

Of course that is true of every organization known to man, too.

Speaking as one very independent thinker to the other, we both know in our heart of hearts that basically the majority people are fucking sheep.

Most of them just so want to fit in and be accepted by their peers that they'll sign onto whatever insane blather they're told to accept.

Yes, you're right... and I for one sometimes call myself a "partisan," to wit:

If my guys got control, I might enjoy seeing the same thing happen to the other guys.

Would I? I should ask myself. If tomorrow, everyone believed as I do, would I break into a yawn and look for something else?

I am not suggesting a lack of sincerity on my part -- I am 98 percent sincere in what I say. But there's a part of me that likes to prick the dominant beliefs, gore the sacred cows, and so on. Some people are just like that.

I also agree that most people don't have original ideas. It's mostly a matter of whose ideas you choose to get behind!

As for the academics, well, I think they by nature ought to be goring more sacred cows than preserving them. Self-referentially, the study of THIS phenomenon itself would be a doozy, wouldn't it? Some graduate student in sociology or psychology decides to write as his thesis "groupthink in academica" and do a full-blown study of it... very cheeky!

 

[vincubus]

VDARE.com: Blog Articles » Bouchard on Groupthink

The strength of this urge to conform can silence even those who have good reason to think the majority is wrong. You’re an expert because all your peers recognize you as such. But if you start to get too far out of line with what your peers believe, they will look at you askance and start to withdraw the informal title of “expert” they have implicitly bestowed on you. Then you’ll bear the less comfortable label of “maverick,” which is only a few stops short of “scapegoat” or “pariah.” …

The academic monocultures referred to by Dr. Bouchard are the kind of thing that sabotages scientific creativity….

What’s wrong with consensuses is not the establishment of a majority view, which is necessary and legitimate, but the silencing of skeptics. “We still have whole domains we can’t talk about,” Dr. Bouchard said, referring to the psychology of differences between races and sexes.

Lol! the fringe is always at risk for elimination. that simply exposes another fringe, and another round of elimination. public opinion is a petty tyrant. we all seem to embrace the dominant reality and that is defined by our peers, in any group.

 

[Gudrid]

I disagree with his dragging all academia into it, but I can see that he might face that specifically with the subjects mentioned in the blog.

 

[PubliusInfinitum]

There's more than a little truth to the above, William.

Of course that is true of every organization known to man, too.

Speaking as one very independent thinker to the other, we both know in our heart of hearts that basically the majority people are fucking sheep.

Most of them just so want to fit in and be accepted by their peers that they'll sign onto whatever insane blather they're told to accept.

ROFLMNAO...

Yet another "Centrist" coming to prop up the illusion that they are 'independent thinkers'... but never MORE HYSTERICAL than when they conclude that they're distinct from those who 'just want to 'fit in...'

Now understand that they come to this conclusion on the grounds that they believe a little from the Left and a little from the Right... Thus priding themselves on always being half-wrong and half right. Sadly, no one has ever managed to provide an intellectually sound basis for how this correlates to independence...

But that serves reason... in that what it actually represents is the weakest and most dependent strain of intellect known to man... the common Weasel...

 

[vincubus]

There's more than a little truth to the above, William.

Of course that is true of every organization known to man, too.

Speaking as one very independent thinker to the other, we both know in our heart of hearts that basically the majority people are fucking sheep.

Most of them just so want to fit in and be accepted by their peers that they'll sign onto whatever insane blather they're told to accept.

ROFLMNAO...

Yet another "Centrist" coming to prop up the illusion that they are 'independent thinkers'... but never MORE HYSTERICAL than when they conclude that they're distinct from those who 'just want to 'fit in...'

Now understand that they come to this conclusion on the grounds that they believe a little from the Left and a little from the Right... Thus priding themselves on always being half-wrong and half right. Sadly, no one has ever managed to provide an intellectually sound basis for how this correlates to independence...

But that serves reason... in that what it actually represents is the weakest and most dependent strain of intellect known to man... the common Weasel...

to be a truly independent thinker, one must be born in seclusion and raised there. natrually, as we have seen from the few "feral" children we have foiund, to be born and raised in seclusion would result in animal grunting as communication. we are all standing on the shoulders of those who have gone before us, and i doubt very serioiusly there is an original thought save in the technology sector.

independence to me indicates a person doesn't blindly accept the dictates or marching orders from any party. i myself do not think that one party or the other is entirely right or entirely wrong. our population and problems are far to complex for the simplistic approach offered by either dominant party.

of course we as a species are very skilled in self delusion. i am no different, i just recognize the delusion.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The fringe rightist or the fringe leftist continue to refrain from independent thinking, from critical cognitive skills, for various reasons. The sad ones are those who listen to Rush/Glenn/Sean/etc., nodding their heads yet not understanding how they are being used solely as an advertising stream for enriching a very few. Sad.

 

[rdean]

I never could understand who these "Academic Elitists" are. I hear people complain that they are "closed minded". Then, when I hear that they are closed minded to "mystical creation" or some such nonsense, then I go, "OH, of course".

Now, when the first scientist that proposed the dinosaurs extinctions was hastened by a space object impact, there was lots of healthy skeptism. That's what smart people do, or what they should do. They should always be skeptical. Always. Then they say, "Show me the proof".

As soon as some people hear, "Show me the proof", then right away fly the accusations of "You have a closed mind" and "You are just an elitist" from some of them. Not everyone. The ones that don't make these accusations, usually have, "proof".