Inviting falsification seems to be lacking in our culture, and sadly even in the world of science (of which I used to be a part), as well as in education (which I am currently a part). I wonder if this has always been the case or it's something more prominent in modern times.
@TK Rok. Thank you. I think you’re right: “inviting falsification” is thinning in culture and, more importantly, even inside the institutions that were supposed to protect it.
Historically, the norm was never perfect, but it was more explicit. From Bacon through Popper, falsifiability was a cultural ethic (think Box “all models are wrong, but some are useful”). To put a claim forward meant exposing it to loss. What feels different now, and what my research keeps circling, is how often claims are treated as extensions of identity rather than provisional models.
That shift seems tied to conditions, not just norms: speed, reputational incentives, publish-or-perish dynamics, platform visibility, and what I call cognitive bandwidth taxes (When nervous systems are overloaded, falsification feels less like inquiry and more like threat).
One question I haven’t settled yet is whether we’re seeing something genuinely new, or a perennial human tendency amplified by modern infrastructure. Another is whether the breakdown is primarily epistemic (how we define knowledge), biological (how stress constrains cognition), or institutional (how incentives reward certainty over curiosity).
What I’m increasingly convinced of is that restoring the practice of falsification is crucial for rebuilding the conditions where people can afford to be wrong in public without losing status or belonging.
I’d be curious how you’ve experienced this shift across science and education, and where you think the biggest leverage point actually is.
Absolutely, and I love that you tested it in the wild. Steelmanning does something almost magical in a room, it lowers the ego temperature. The moment people feel understood, they stop guarding territory and start refining the idea. Thanks for sharing!
Inviting falsification seems to be lacking in our culture, and sadly even in the world of science (of which I used to be a part), as well as in education (which I am currently a part). I wonder if this has always been the case or it's something more prominent in modern times.
@TK Rok. Thank you. I think you’re right: “inviting falsification” is thinning in culture and, more importantly, even inside the institutions that were supposed to protect it.
Historically, the norm was never perfect, but it was more explicit. From Bacon through Popper, falsifiability was a cultural ethic (think Box “all models are wrong, but some are useful”). To put a claim forward meant exposing it to loss. What feels different now, and what my research keeps circling, is how often claims are treated as extensions of identity rather than provisional models.
That shift seems tied to conditions, not just norms: speed, reputational incentives, publish-or-perish dynamics, platform visibility, and what I call cognitive bandwidth taxes (When nervous systems are overloaded, falsification feels less like inquiry and more like threat).
One question I haven’t settled yet is whether we’re seeing something genuinely new, or a perennial human tendency amplified by modern infrastructure. Another is whether the breakdown is primarily epistemic (how we define knowledge), biological (how stress constrains cognition), or institutional (how incentives reward certainty over curiosity).
What I’m increasingly convinced of is that restoring the practice of falsification is crucial for rebuilding the conditions where people can afford to be wrong in public without losing status or belonging.
I’d be curious how you’ve experienced this shift across science and education, and where you think the biggest leverage point actually is.
Absolutely, and I love that you tested it in the wild. Steelmanning does something almost magical in a room, it lowers the ego temperature. The moment people feel understood, they stop guarding territory and start refining the idea. Thanks for sharing!