Krugman: The argument from personal incredulity

[Jim Lane]

8. A clearer example is geocentrism.

Common sense tells us that the Earth is stationary and at the center of the universe. Because that's common sense, it was in fact the dominant belief of humans through most of our history. It continued to be the belief of most people even after it was clearly shown to be wrong. Many years had to elapse before the geocentrists dwindled to being just a lunatic fringe.

For both quantum mechanics and scientific macroeconomics, however, the analogy may fail. I don't know if the public at large will ever accept those beliefs, the way that the Copernican revolution has finally won popular acceptance.