Have you ever noticed that when a group of people object to something they tend to be loud and visible while those who don't object to it almost always remain quite? The saying the squeaky wheel gets the grease comes to mind. Perhaps that's why most newer relativity textbooks use relativistic mass while the articles on the debate of relativsitic mass vs proper mass are against the concept of relativistic mass.

My question is why do people remain quite when they disagree with the loudest people? Is it that they don't see a need to argue for their beliefs and that people are only loud/public on issues when they're against something?

Pmb,

I think there are as many answers to your questions as there are different people expressing there views. Personality determines the responses of individuals, some peoples emotions may run high (even the quiet ones). I personally believe that it is important to strike a balance between being absolutely correct and being quick and concise. The people who have the knack of getting their own point accross might not always be right, but they have assesed not only the theoretical side of the problem but also the dynamics of the situation. It is my personal belief that even incorrect statements can add value as long as they are seen in context. The danger being that once those incorrect statements are incorporated into theory, much time might be wasted in trying to build on those statements.