Reply To: Smart people and the marketplace of ideas

Really smart people know that in the clash of ideas, there is very often no way to qualitatively determine which is “better.” From an objective standpoint, the validity of ideas really is subjective. So the person who “wins” in such circumstances usually is judged so based on the articulation of his idea–which does not give an idea merit above another in and of itself. (It can sometimes be telling, though.)