I think you are completely mistaken here. His personality (as evidenced by this quote) is actually why you have heard of him.
People didn't like him because he claimed they were doing wrong. And they disliked him even more because he had the statistics to prove it. Had he been humble, they would have disliked him just as much, but would have found him easy to ignore - and you would likely not have heard of him.
I have detailed a modern case in an answer below [0]. Had semmelweis provided a good scientific explanation, some of his opponents would have probably conceded defeat, but I'm quite sure others would have found something else to latch on to.
It still happens. See e.g. Atkins (of the Atkins diet fame). See, e.g. Shechtman (recent noble laureate, of the quasi crystal fame). You've heard of them because they did not shut up. But that's not the reason people didn't like them.
I think you are completely mistaken here. His personality (as evidenced by this quote) is actually why you have heard of him.
People didn't like him because he claimed they were doing wrong. And they disliked him even more because he had the statistics to prove it. Had he been humble, they would have disliked him just as much, but would have found him easy to ignore - and you would likely not have heard of him.
I have detailed a modern case in an answer below [0]. Had semmelweis provided a good scientific explanation, some of his opponents would have probably conceded defeat, but I'm quite sure others would have found something else to latch on to.
It still happens. See e.g. Atkins (of the Atkins diet fame). See, e.g. Shechtman (recent noble laureate, of the quasi crystal fame). You've heard of them because they did not shut up. But that's not the reason people didn't like them.
[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8901440