steven l. rubenstein wrote:
The second comment has to do with credibility. I agree 100% with Jimbo's point that what makes Einstein's theories more credible than aunt Gertie's is not crude popularity but that physicists give more credence to Einstein's theories (about physics by the way -- Aunt Gertrude may be more of an authority on needlepoint or, so as not to be sexist, repairing a carburetor, than Einstein).
But this is exactly what I mean when I say it's a popularity contest. We say Einstein is believed by most physicists. That's still a poularity contest, just one amoung physicists rather than the general poulation. We never take into account that there might only be one dissenter, but that might be the best physicist in the world, and maybe he/she's right. How can we tell though? We don't evaluate who's the best physicist when making these decisions. Instead we just use the crude approximation of how many support the idea. I don't know about anyone else, but I still call that a measure based on popularity.
Shane.