Madness of Crowds (John Campbell)

Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (Charles Mackay, 1841).

Economic bubbles

The Love of the Marvellous and the Disbelief of the True

Peculiar Follies

The Crusades

The Witch Mania

The Slow Poisoners

Philosophical Delusions

The Alchemysts

Fortune Telling

The Magnetisers (Frans Mesmer)

Remedy to groupthink

Uphold the right of dissenters to be heard.

Medical journals, actively encourage the discussion of contrarian ideas

Stop punishment for dissenters

Address financial and other conflicts of interest.

Indulge those occupied with “taboo science,” while still adhering to time-tested scientific principles and methods.

Be aware of manipulating psychopaths and sociopaths (JC)

Something is rotten in the Academy. We need to improve.



There's an excellent quote from Charles Mackay, that's not mentioned in this clip, which is: "Men, it has been well said, think in herds; it will be seen that they go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one." The way to avoid this problem is to follow scientific/rational principles, briefly mentioned in the video, where ALL hypothesis can be considered and judged (on the evidence & tested via observation/experiment).

[Posted at the SpookyWeather2 blog, August 20, 2025.]