"No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort 's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels"
About this Quote
Invoking Charles Fort is a tell. Fort was the patron saint of the anomaly, the collector of weird data that institutions either mocked or filed away. Wilson borrows Fort's posture not to endorse every marvel, but to indict a cultural hierarchy: credulity is embarrassing, disbelief is respectable. His punchline flips the status badge. The need to believe in marvels and the need not to believe in them are presented as mirror appetites, each capable of filtering evidence, each capable of confusing emotional comfort for rigor.
The subtext is a critique of mid-century rationalist confidence, when "science" often doubled as a social identity: the modern person who will not be taken in. Wilson suggests that this identity can become its own superstition, complete with taboos (do not entertain the strange) and a priesthood of permissible questions. It's a warning that the line between healthy skepticism and defensive dismissal is thinner than we'd like, especially when reputations, institutions, and self-image are on the line.
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Wilson, Colin. (2026, January 15). No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort 's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-honest-scientists-think-they-are-173524/
Chicago Style
Wilson, Colin. "No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort 's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-honest-scientists-think-they-are-173524/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"No matter how honest scientists think they are, they are still influenced by various unconscious assumptions that prevent them from attaining true objectivity. Expressed in a sentence, Fort 's principle goes something like this: People with a psychological need to believe in marvels are no more prejudiced and gullible than people with a psychological need not to believe in marvels." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/no-matter-how-honest-scientists-think-they-are-173524/. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
