Would it be possible for me to study a subject for a long time and still come to the wrong conclusions?

Question

What if a bunch of my friends studied it as well and came to the same (or similar enough) conclusions, would that mean we were right?

What if another, smaller group of guys studied the same thing, but came to much different conclusions... would my group be right, especially if we outnumbered them by a large amount, simply because there's more of us than them?

Answer 1

Back in 1920, a hundred German scientists (real ones, all with a university degree of some kind) wrote a booklet against the theory of relativity: "Hundert Wissenschaftler gegen Einstein" (100 scientists against Einstein) in which it was explained that the theory of relativity
was of course all nonsense.

They also held mass meetings, organized demonstrations, and even arranged for a conference to discuss the subject. Needless to say that most of these people became fanatical Nazis later.

Einstein's reaction to it has been preserved too:

"Eine hatte genugt, wenn Sie ein Argument gehabt hatten."
(One would have sufficed, had they had an argument.)

Answer 2

It is not uncommon for people in groups to hold the same belief systems. It does not mean the group is right. It means they all believe in a wrong way.

It is very possible to study something all of your life and be wrong about what you believe. If you don't balance the studies with opinions and research that are different and meaningful, then one can be misled all of their life.

If a smaller group develops a differing opinion on the same subject, it only reinforces the point I'm trying to make. People mislead people. They reinforce their misbeliefs and then cause others to err right along with them.

Answer 3

Yes. But so what? You can't be having millions of people studying something for a long period of time and all come to the wrong conclusion. It doesn't work that way. Thus, if you have enough facts to support something (like evolution) that has been studied for hundreds of years by millions of people, its probably right. Small bits and pieces of it may be wrong, but the entire thing likely won't be.

Answer 4

Yes; No; No. Majority rule does not mean infallibility. It is possible for several people to fall into the same fallacious way of thinking, regardless of duration of study. Most likely, however, the chances are that a group that is both larger and more experienced in a subject will be more accurate, but it is not a guarantee.

Answer 5

If you were working together then that creates a bias outcome because you all were leading each other in the same direction whether you meant to or not. Now, if everyone came to their conclusion separately than odds are if they are very similar then it would be correct. Unless you were missing a significant piece of the puzzle, and didn't have to jump to wild conclusions you should be straight.

Answer 6

Often times, nearly no amount of study, and no facts can change conclusions once they've been reached. Study and facts simply gives us reasons and justifications for decisions AFTER the fact.

The US invasion of Iraq, for example.

Slavery around the world in civilized nations through out the past 200 years, for example.

Answer 7

The answer is for each to discover on his/her own. For everything there can be millions of answers, depending on who you ask and how you ask, even what research is made can lead to different conclusions, in the end there is no right answer and no wrong answer, there is just the question.

Answer 8

Have good conviction or bull-canine determination to beat those form of hurdles. save your innovations good, good, secure, organic, sharp and superb. permit or not that's dynamic. do not do something which will adversely impression your character. communicate in straight forward terms one concern at a time and attempt to attain perfection. Excel in any container you project. Or better to have a good mentor of your individual decision and hear his advices scrupulously.

Answer 9

no matter how much you study any one particular ( no matter the particular subject ) subject there will never be anyone who knows everything about it. one might become known as an " expert " in this particular subject but to know everything would be all but impossible. the more one knows the more one finds out there is to know.

Answer 10

every human studying the bible... Why? because they rely on spiritual inspiration to understand... nature uses common sense leaving physical indications that we can see to guide us.... the only one spiritually inspiring using the bible is the devil or evil. You can all come to his conclusions but you'll never get it right... atheists understand more than a christian..... it's also true with any "spiritually" inspired text