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    benjaminalloverHamilton Nolan
    7/28/14 10:41am

    Kind of a truism that the vanguard of serious thinkers operate outside the mainstream discourse; but who do you think are our civilization's "thought leaders"? Surely you must include propagandists as much as truly forward thinkers, based on how many people's "thoughts" they are effectively "leading", whether that holds back or accelerates our progress as a society.

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      Hamilton Nolanbenjaminallover
      7/28/14 10:49am

      The sort of real "thought leaders" I'm thinking of are people who stake out positions that are right and true, but perhaps unpopular for various reasons; some time later, when those positions get more widely accepted, the more timid thinkers—who probably agreed initially on principle but were too afraid to say so—come out and join the chorus. This is a textbook case of that effect in action.

      Propagandists might have power over thoughts, but their positions are often false, so I wouldn't include them. I get what you're trying to say though. In actuality I think true thought leaders don't often have a lot of followers, because they're perceived as being outside the mainstream and therefore not taken seriously. By the time the world comes around to embracing their position, they're often forgotten.

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      benjaminalloverHamilton Nolan
      7/28/14 10:53am

      I can recognize the distinction; you're talking about the Harvey Milks, the Teslas, the early climate change "alarmists", not Roger Ailes.

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    Queen of BithyniaHamilton Nolan
    7/28/14 10:42am

    It's like there's a disease that hits certain people in middle age where they lose the ability to notice when their opinions are banal.

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