In other words, should we follow conventional wisdom all the time? How do we determine what is conventional wisdom? What is the conventional wisdom?
I came across a quote by English philosopher Jeremy Bentham – “It is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
Jeremy Bentham was an English philosopher, jurist, and social reformer regarded as the founder of modern utilitarianism.
Bentham defined as the “fundamental axiom” of his philosophy the principle that “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong.”
I have found a definition of conventional wisdom, and it sounded as reasonable as anything else I could think of, for the definition of conventional wisdom.
It has been my experience that it makes sense (more often than not) to follow conventional wisdom and I do have numerous examples of the consequences for not following the conventional wisdom.
The below example is shot at Harmony Borax in Death Valley National Park, California. The photo follows all the prescribed steps based on conventional wisdom and avoid all the proscribed step-based “do-nots” outlined by expert photographers.
A decent capture that can be further improved in post processing using software.
The one below does not (fully) conform to conventional wisdom of “do’s and do-not’s” of taking Milkyway images. Almost every article on “how to” take MW you find on ether is very consistent in its recipe for Milkyway photography. I have used a technique called exposure bracket (of 9 images in this case), I did not use an equatorial mount, I did not use high ISO, and I used longer exposure than 1/500 rule suggests.
The point I am belaboring to make is that conventional wisdom while makes decision making often simpler, it is not always right. Just because something made greatest number of people, does not necessarily imply they are right. I am not so sure I am in full concurrence with Bentham.
Ironically enough, this blog is an example of not following the conventional wisdom. Who would want to read my personal experiences? Why would they be bothered by my photos? If I were to monetize this effort, not that I ever want to do it, the conventional wisdom says don’t do it. The parameters for success are missing. There is no stature, personally and photographically, no established status for publishing, and no name recognition. Yet, this is my 50th article in the blog and no one has told me yet that I ran the course and should close the shop.
