I believe that flat earthers are the balancing force of that lack of science dissident. Science has become a 9-to-5 job for most and they now have the wrong incentives for that pure "pursuit of Truth".
Everyone has the same incentives, their personalities and cultures give a different shade to them but the incentive of accumulating resources and self-propagation remain constant across people. No one objects to "the truth" per se, it's how we use reality or the perception of it to organize and conduct ourselves that matters to people. All this dissident stuff is giving me "what's the truth about gay genes and racial IQ differences" vibes.
