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Contents
- 1 The Majority Does Not Determine the Truth: The Solomon Asch Experiment
The Majority Does Not Determine the Truth: The Solomon Asch Experiment
How Social Pressure Creates False Objectivity
In today’s world, many people blindly trust the opinion of the majority. They believe that if many people claim something is true, then it must be true.
📢 But does it really work that way?
A Conversation That Explained Everything
Once, during a discussion, I asked someone:
- “What if 100 people say the sun rises in the west—would you agree with them?”
Their answer was shocking:
🗣 “Well, if the majority says so, then it must be objectively true.”
This moment revealed something crucial: many people do not search for truth—they simply follow the crowd.
The Solomon Asch Experiment (1951)
Psychologist Solomon Asch conducted an experiment in 1951 that exposed how social pressure influences perception—even when the majority is clearly wrong.
How did the experiment work?
- Participants were shown a simple visual test—they just had to compare the lengths of lines.
- The test was obvious, and anyone could easily determine the correct answer.
- However, most participants were placed among actors, who deliberately gave wrong answers.
- The real participant had to either agree with the majority or stick to their own judgment.
What happened?
🚨 Over 75% of the real participants conformed to the wrong answers at least once, just because the majority did!
Why Does This Happen?
1. Social Pressure
People fear being different. If the majority believes something, individuals feel pressure to conform—even if they know it’s wrong.
2. Illusion of Collective Intelligence
People assume that if many others believe something, it must be true.
📢 But what if the entire group is wrong?
3. Suppression of Individual Thinking
Social conformity prevents people from analyzing things independently.
Many would rather be wrong with the majority than right alone.
The Majority Does Not Determine Truth
Here’s the key insight:
🚨 The majority does not establish truth—it simply follows the dominant opinion of the time.
This leads to a dangerous idea—that truth can be determined by voting or popularity.
But if 99 out of 100 people say something incorrect, that does not make it true.
History Proves It Again and Again
- Geocentrism (1543) – The majority believed Earth was the center of the universe. Those who disagreed were persecuted.
- Germ Theory Rejection (1800s) – Doctors refused to accept that tiny microbes caused disease, leading to millions of preventable deaths.
- Einstein vs. 100 Physicists (1920s) – Scientists ridiculed Einstein’s relativity theory—until time proved him right.
📢 In every case, the majority was wrong.
The Social Construction of Objectivity
📢 Can the majority define what is “real”?
This is how false objectivity is created.
What is considered “correct,” “scientific,” or “true” is often just what society agrees upon at the time.
- If enough people believe something, it becomes the accepted truth.
- If the majority ignores evidence, reality is rewritten.
🚨 Truth is not decided by consensus—it exists regardless of opinion.
If You Go Against the Majority…
When you challenge popular beliefs, expect resistance:
- People will say: “Oh, so you think you’re smarter than everyone else?”
- They will demand: “Where is your proof?!”
- Some may resort to mockery and suppression rather than debating facts.
But truth has never been determined by popularity.
📢 If you understand this—you are already ahead of most people.
Conclusion
✅ Truth is not decided by voting.
✅ The majority is often wrong.
✅ Social norms create false objectivity.
✅ People trust consensus more than independent thinking.
History has shown that the majority is often wrong. But if you realize this—you are already ahead. 🚀