A retraction can itself be wrong, and be worth retracting.

Added to korrents 7 Sept 2026 · How quotes work · Something wrong? Tell us

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• Rests on

  A writer should keep a public list of the things they got significantly wrong, so that readers can judge their credibility.

  That a retraction can itself need retracting is a hazard of keeping the list at all: entry 47 on his page records him withdrawing an accusation and then, a year later, withdrawing the withdrawal. Without the practice there is nothing to be wrong about twice.

Shared subject first, then similar wording. They may agree or disagree.

• Giving something 60-40 odds and being wrong is not itself a mistake. SAScott Alexander1 Feb 2023
• Making a mistake is not the problem; not learning from mistakes is. RDRay Dalio27 Sept 2022
• A useful thing should not be banned because it harms some people by accident I(Ibn Rushd (Averroes)c. 1126–1195
• The one political value worth fighting for is opposing thought control: removing someone for saying the wrong thing is never the right outcome, whichever side does it. DHDan Houser31 Oct 2025
• A bubble can only be identified in retrospect, so arguing about whether one is happening now cannot be settled now. HMHoward Marks9 Dec 2025

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