The right-wing contrarian can quote chapter and verse of every time the narrative was incorrect. And there are certainly legitimate critiques to level against the conventional wisdom. Way too many people in the mainstream media and political establishment were too credulous about the Steele Dossier, for example. At the same time, many of the same individuals were too quick to dismiss the authenticity of the Hunter Biden emails disclosed in the waning days of the 2020 election and to improperly label them Russian disinformation.

Regarding COVID, every scientific stumble and mistake is on instant recall. The contrarian is quick to point out the inefficacy of outdoor masking, the bizarre reversals of warnings against mass gatherings during the George Floyd protests, and the improper delays in reopening schools.

But don’t for a moment mistake contrarianism for critical thinking. A true critical thinker holds all sides accountable for their mistakes. Those who underplayed the COVID threat would be rejected just as decisively (if not more, given the staggering toll in lives) as those who overplayed it. Those who said there were no contacts between Russians and the Trump campaign would be rejected just as decisively as those who said there was active collusion with the Russian government.

The critical thinker is universally skeptical. The contrarian commits a double error—he’s both excessively cynical and excessively credulous. He’s too quick to disbelieve one side and too quick to believe the opposite.