Eyebrows Raised, Noses Wrinkled: Thoughts from a Guerrilla Epistemologist
Musings on Science, Philosophy, and the Art of Being Full of It. You do follow mud wrestling don't you?
I've long been interested in topics philosophical and scientific. Why is that? Well, I guess I'm a curious character (pace Richard Feynman1). So, these disciplines would include epistemology, philosophy of mind, aesthetics, religion, and any number of other areas of philosophy. I've also taken a lifelong interest in science as a dilettante, I suppose, as a failed would-be scientist. But that's just me in any case. Well, I suppose I could have instead had a passion for ferret-legging, cabbage-bowling or mud-wrestling.
I have long regretted that I was not as smart or well-educated as I wanted to be (not to mention debonair, charming, and a hit with the opposite sex). In any case, I have come to suspect that those who are smarter and better educated are just as likely to be full of it as I, although they can probably tell a better story. Cynical? Moi?
In any case, I have taken to aggregating internet content over the last few decades, reposting things that satisfied these criteria:
They lay somewhere in the vicinity of my current beliefs.
They had some reasonable probability of being correct (a subjective judgment, to be sure).
To the extent that they were true, they might have important implications.
As a result, I re-post a lot of material that may cause eyebrows to raise and noses to wrinkle2. Not a bad thing, as long as you do not reject things out of hand without due consideration3.
Ephektikoi: Guerrilla Epistemologist, Cracker Barrel Philosopher, Cheap Seats Polymath, Smart-ass.
Feynman, R. P. (n.d.). Surely you’re joking, Mr. Feynman! Confessions of a curious character. New York: W. W. Norton.
The sentence "As a result, I re-post a lot of material that may cause eyebrows to raise and noses to wrinkle" conveys that the material you share is likely to provoke surprise, curiosity, or disbelief (raising eyebrows), while also eliciting disapproval, distaste, or disgust (wrinkling noses). This suggests that your reposted content challenges common opinions or social norms, making people both intrigued and uncomfortable.
The combination implies that your content has the potential to stir reactions that are both thought-provoking and unsettling.
Popper, K. R. (1963). Conjectures and refutations: The growth of scientific knowledge. Routledge. Popper argues that critical engagement with ideas is essential for intellectual progress and cautions against rejecting theories or ideas without proper examination and testing.