When a Consensus -- on Science or Anything -- Masks "Groupthink"

A brief item in the New York Times offers an intriguing antidote from ancient history to the timeless problem of subtly enforced conformity of opinion.

One of the most influential theories in the behavioral sciences in recent decades is "groupthink." Developed by the psychologist Irving Janis in the early 1970s, the groupthink theory describes how a tight-knit, smart and well-informed group can suppress dissent and make disastrous decisions because of the pressure to agree.

Hm, that...