this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
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I'm pretty sure that's what most people are doing already. If everyone around you says climate change is a hoax, then that sure sounds like a consensus.
This is one of those questions that keeps nagging at me. I have the resources to actually go and learn about things and build a sufficiently large world model to filter out a lot of BS. But in areas that I'm less well versed in and that aren't covered by my world model, I realize that I have no idea who the experts are or how to find the consensus without doing tons of reading. If I've read enough to determine the consensus position, then I'll have absorbed enough of the material that I can be considered somewhat of an expert myself. So how can I possibly convince someone else without making them go through that whole process themselves? You probably don't have an answer to this, but any ideas are welcome too if you happen to have any to share.
I knew I should have added "Scientific consensus" because sure, if you follow the neighbour down the street into his or her conspiracy rabbit hole, you'll end up believing that climate change is a hoax invented by "the Jews" to hide the "fact" that the earth is flat, and that we never went to the moon, and that Bush did 9/11.
If you don't have knowledge, and don't know where to start, then it's not your place to convince someone else. All you can say is then "I don't know either", which is a full sentence.