Jiro comments on Is my view contrarian? - Less Wrong

22 Post author: lukeprog 11 March 2014 05:42PM

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Comment author: Eugine_Nier 13 March 2014 03:35:07AM 0 points [-]

One rarely sees scientific ideas spread by conquest,

The spread of scientific ideas from Europe was almost entirely by conquest.

or by the kind of social pressure brought to bear by religions.

Try being openly creationist at a major university, you'll quickly discover the kind of social pressure science can bring to bear.

Nobody gets told by their mother to believe Newton's Laws every week at college in the way they might be told to go to Mass.

Although they might get told to go to the doctor and not the New Age healer.

Comment author: Jiro 13 March 2014 08:19:23AM *  2 points [-]

The spread of scientific ideas from Europe was almost entirely by conquest.

Only in a very literal sense. Nobody said "let's conquer everyone in order to spread the atomic of theory of matter" and once they conquered they didn't execute people who didn't believe in atoms or decide that people who don't believe in atoms are not permitted to testify in court.

Try being openly creationist at a major university, you'll quickly discover the kind of social pressure science can bring to bear.

That's not the same kind of social pressure. I'm referring to one's personal life, not one's professional life.

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