When I was 17 I said to myself, “I’m not going to conform to other people’s preferences, just in the desire to be liked, because then my life’s contribution would be zero”. I’ve stood by that mantra, and always sought empirical inquiry, even if others may disagree. Great piece by Matthew Yglesias that dissent is part of liberalism, and anxious desperation for approval shouldn’t push us into silence or self-censorship :-)