26-06-2026, 11:51 AM
I think there is a conflation of skepticism, which is demanding a high bar of evidence and reasoning to overcome doubt, with close mindedness, which is simply not considering new evidence and reasoning. The purest example of this is "looks-like" theories, where the solver says that the manuscript "looks like" something else, and then is surprised when the rest of us do not simply nod and go, "Of course, why didn't I see that?"
Most solvers do not see it this way, but I firmly believe they would actually find closed mindedness far more comfortable. They would garner far less painful criticism---both in that there would be less of it, and in that it would be easier to write off---if people were not so willing to consider new solutions from a great many angles and compare it to what is already known. This is not to say that I have never seen someone make a motivated point or dismiss an idea too quickly, but I think the experience of solvers is that they get duly and thoroughly considered on this forum and that is what they do not like.
Most solvers do not see it this way, but I firmly believe they would actually find closed mindedness far more comfortable. They would garner far less painful criticism---both in that there would be less of it, and in that it would be easier to write off---if people were not so willing to consider new solutions from a great many angles and compare it to what is already known. This is not to say that I have never seen someone make a motivated point or dismiss an idea too quickly, but I think the experience of solvers is that they get duly and thoroughly considered on this forum and that is what they do not like.



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