Inverse stopped clock

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(Examples)
(Examples)
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*Harry Elmer Barnes endorsing [[Holocaust denial]].
 
*Harry Elmer Barnes endorsing [[Holocaust denial]].
 
*[[George Carlin]] giving voice to [[Truther]]s.
 
*[[George Carlin]] giving voice to [[Truther]]s.
*[[Noam Chomsky]] flirting with denial of the [[Cambodia]]n [[genocide]] that occurred under [[Pol Pot]], among other atrocities.
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*[[Noam Chomsky]] flirting with denial of the [[Cambodia]]n [[genocide]] that occurred under [[Pol Pot]] and the Srebrenica massacre, among other atrocities.
 
*[[Richard Dawkins]] making outlandish statements on [[gender]], [[Islam]] and even [[pedophilia]] as he gets older.
 
*[[Richard Dawkins]] making outlandish statements on [[gender]], [[Islam]] and even [[pedophilia]] as he gets older.
 
*Tommy Douglas ([[universal health care]] advocate in [[Canada]]) supporting [[eugenics]].
 
*Tommy Douglas ([[universal health care]] advocate in [[Canada]]) supporting [[eugenics]].

Revision as of 05:26, 7 November 2013

Part of the series on

Logic and rhetoric

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An inverse stopped clock refers to a situation in which someone who is usually logical, rational, or correct does or believes something idiotic or crazy. This is sometimes referred to as "even geniuses make mistakes."

Contents

Explanation

Due to the imperfect nature of human beings, even reasonable people will make a mistake every now and then, often by chance alone. Perhaps something cranky (e.g. a conspiracy theory) appeals to someone's ideology and they go with it, even if they're usually correct on other subjects. Other times they may panic and do something stupid in response to a sometimes over exaggerated threat or situation. The difference between these people and other cranks is that they are usually not crazy, but every time an inverse stopped clock situation takes place their reputation becomes slightly more soiled. (The degree of stupidity also makes a difference, and if the moment is crazy enough they may never be able to live it down, with everything they say being up for question after the incident.)

The most dangerous part of the inversed stopped clock is that the crankery supported may be given much more weight than if it was supported by known nut job, due to the usually decent/sane reputation of the person promoting it. The opposite could also happen, and the person's one crank belief will become, again, mainly what they are known for, leaving the rest of their work marginalized by association. An example of the latter is Peter Duesberg and his HIV denialism.

Ultracrepidarianism

A similar, slightly different, case is the "ultracrepidarian," who has a tendency to make authoritative pronouncements in matters above their level of knowledge. Often, those pronouncements fall entirely outside the ultracrepidarian's realm of legitimate expertise. The English term appears to have been coined around the early 19th century, having its origin in Pliny the Elder's record of the 4th century BCE artist Apelles' willingness to accept a cobbler's criticism of his rendering of a sandal, but rejection of other artistic advice, saying, "sutor, ne ultra crepidam," or, "shoemaker, not above the sandal." (The adage, "cobbler, stick to your last," means essentially the same thing.)[1]

Ultracrepidarians need not be usually correct — instead, their claim to fame is that they habitually stray outside the bounds of their acknowledged competence, becoming noted for crankery or other public silliness.

Examples

See also

Footnotes

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