‘He expected everyone else in his department would sign it, so it would look really bad if he didn’t.’
From “Can Things Be Both Popular and Silenced?” by Scott Alexander at SlateStarCodex.com, May 23:
Here is a story I heard from a friend, which I will alter slightly to protect the innocent. A prestigious psychology professor signed an open letter in which psychologists condemned belief in innate sex differences. My friend knew that this professor believed such differences existed, and asked him why he signed the letter. He said that he expected everyone else in his department would sign it, so it would look really bad if he didn’t. My friend asked why he expected everyone else in his department to sign it, and he said “Probably for the same reason I did.”