Wronger than wrong (also Pauli's proverb)[1] is a statement that equates two errors when one of the errors is clearly more grave than the other. The mistake was discussed in Isaac Asimov's book of essays The Relativity of Wrong[2] as well as in a 1989 article[3] of the same name in the Fall 1989 issue of the Skeptical Inquirer:

When people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical, they were wrong. But if you think that thinking the Earth is spherical is just as wrong as thinking the Earth is flat, then your view is wronger than both of them put together.

According to John Jenkins,[4] who reviewed The Relativity of Wrong, the title essay of Asimov's book is the one "which I think is important both for understanding Asimov's thinking about science and for arming oneself against the inevitable anti-science attack that one often hears – [that] theories are always preliminary and science really doesn't 'know' anything."

Along these lines, Michael Shermer even coined it Asimov's axiom.[1]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Shermer M (November 2006). "Wronger Than Wrong". Scientific American. 295 (5): 40. Bibcode:2006SciAm.295e..40S. doi:10.1038/scientificamerican1106-40.
  2. ↑ Asimov, Isaac. The Relativity of Wrong. ISBN 1-55817-169-X (paperback, 1989); ISBN 1-57566-008-3 (paperback reissue, 1996).
  3. ↑ Asimov Isaac (Fall 1989). "Wronger Than Wrong". The Skeptical Inquirer. 14 (1).
  4. ↑ "Welcome to Jenkins' Spoiler-Laden Guide to Isaac Asimov's The Relativity of Wrong". 26 February 2006.


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