We all default to the consensus on issues we are not informed about, which are most issues because we specialize. If I want to learn how to make the best steel for a given application, I look it up.

The people I'm talking about stick to the consensus even in light of overwhelming evidence against that is presented to them. They just don't allow themselves to see it, or they find some way to misinterpret it or take a perverse perspective, or more often than not resort to ad hominem attacks, in order to maintain their prior belief system.

I believe a signficant fraction of scientsists do this even within their own field of expertise. Out of fear. It takes bravery to present a paper that shows that everyone has been wrong all this time. The reward is great, so you would think that would be enough incentive, but today there is often too much risk that you will lose your funding.