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"Crank" is a pejorative term used for a person who unshakably holds a belief that most of his or her contemporaries consider to be false.[1] A "cranky" belief is so wildly at variance with commonly accepted belief as to be ludicrous. Cranks characteristically dismiss all evidence or arguments which contradict their own unconventional beliefs, making rational debate an often futile task.

Common synonyms for "crank" include crackpot and kook. A crank differs from a fanatic in that the subject of the fanatic's obsession is either not necessarily widely regarded as wrong or not necessarily a "fringe" belief. Similarly, the word quack is reserved for someone who promotes a medical remedy or practice that is widely considered to be ineffective; this term however does not imply any deep belief in the idea or product they are attempting to sell. Crank may also refer to an ill-tempered individual or one who is in a bad mood, but that usage is not the subject of this article.

Although a crank's beliefs seem ridiculous to experts in the field, cranks are sometimes very successful in convincing non-experts of their views. A famous example is the Indiana Pi Bill where a state legislature nearly wrote into law a crank result in geometry.

Buffalo wrote:There is really no disputing this.

Buffalo wrote:You can't be a Mormon apologist (especially a professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute) and not also be a crank.

Patriarchal gripe wrote:As a TBM, I would have considered critics (of Mormonism, Conservatism, whatever view I held) to be cranks. I now realize they are, for the most part, the folks who are open to having their opinions and viewpoints critiqued.

There is really no disputing this. You can't be a Mormon apologist (especially a professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute) and not also be a crank.

Daniel Peterson wrote:

Buffalo wrote:There is really no disputing this.

Dissent from this claim is, by its very nature, illegitimate.

Buffalo wrote:You can't be a Mormon apologist (especially a professional apologist such as those published by the Maxwell Institute) and not also be a crank.

Here's a list of the Maxwell Institute's authors, to this point:

http://maxwellinstitute.BYU.edu/authors/

Quite a payroll!

(I'm still waiting for my first apologist check. Maybe, if it's big enough, I'll give up writing, presenting, and teaching about Islam, Islamic philosophy, and the Qur’an, and editing bilingual medieval texts from the Middle East.)

Daniel Peterson wrote:
(I'm still waiting for my first apologist check. Maybe, if it's big enough, I'll give up writing, presenting, and teaching about Islam, Islamic philosophy, and the Qur’an, and editing bilingual medieval texts from the Middle East.)

Nomad wrote:

Patriarchal gripe wrote:As a TBM, I would have considered critics (of Mormonism, Conservatism, whatever view I held) to be cranks. I now realize they are, for the most part, the folks who are open to having their opinions and viewpoints critiqued.

Quite possibly the greatest apostate post EVER!

Chip wrote:Who said anything about payrolls? Oh, right, it was you.