Lex Fridman: belief

Transcript context

…Well, I actually appreciate the skeptic’s stance. Scientists also have to be skeptics. We have to be childlike, naive, and somewhat in some sense really open to anything. Otherwise, you’re not going to be flexible, you’re not going to be at the forefront. But also to be skeptical. So I have respect for it. I guess that’s exactly what I’m saying is more confusing, because to invoke skepticism and then to want to use rational argument, what is the other component that’s going into this? Because as you said, this is something that’s easily verified. We have people in space, so you have to believe a lot more machinery that’s a lot more difficult to justify, explain as a wild conspiracy. So there’s something about the conspiracy that stirs a positive emotion. I think one of the most incredible things… I have to talk to you about this. One of the most incredible things that humans have ever accomplished is LIGO. We have to talk about gravitational waves. And the very fact that we’re able to detect gravitational waves from the early universe is f-ing wild. It’s crazy.…

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