In his book Heretics, G. K. Chesterton praises H. G. Wells for being able to change his mind.
He has abandoned the sensational theory with the same honourable gravity and simplicity with which he adopted it. Then he thought it was true; now he thinks it is not true. He has come to the most dreadful conclusion a literary man can come to, the conclusion that the ordinary view is the right one. It is only the last and wildest kind of courage that can stand on a tower before ten thousand people and tell them that twice two is four.
Emphasis added.
Related post: Three reasons expert predictions are often wrong
Very nice.
“When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do, sir?”
— John Maynard Keynes
I wonder whether Keynes would be a Keynesian now if he were still alive. Perhaps not.