Yes, but No

We can observe that generally there are 4 attitudes to life:

   1. Yes and Yes

   2. No and No

   3. Yes, but No

   4. No, but Yes

Allow me to elaborate: The first Yes in 'Yes and Yes' is when we think we believe in something; whereas the second Yes in 'Yes and Yes' means that we really do believe in it. 

For example, a person who has an attitude of 'Yes and Yes' about himself, will believe in himself. In fact, he is too confident in himself that he completely ignores any criticisms directed at him. In contrast, a person who has the attitude of 'No and No', will completely deny having any abilities, and despite what others praise him for, he will continue to not believe in himself.

Another person, on the other hand, who has the attitude of 'Yes, but No' in himself, will at first believe in his own abilities. In reality, he actually does not believe in himself, and so he listens to criticisms from others. Finally, there's also a type of person who has the 'No, but Yes' attitude about himself. This person will at first deny having any abilities, but in reality he is only too confident in himself that he doesn't accept any criticisms.

...

There are many other examples to give for these differing attitudes; and they are not necessarily to do with the individual self. One example is of Science. 

Real progress in science, I think, can only be made when the 'Yes, but No' attitude is cultivated towards scientific knowledge. We can make a comparison to what would happen if the other attitudes are used towards science, instead of 'Yes, but No'.

Obviously the 'Yes and Yes' attitude would not bring any progress in science, since everyone will accept current scientific theories as if 'written in stone' and therefore they will suppress any rogue attempts to challenge the accepted theories. On the other hand, the 'No and No' attitude would of course deny science itself and therefore it would throw us back to the pre-scientific age.

Interestingly, it would be easy to discover how 'Yes, but No' can be the most productive attitude towards scientific knowledge. The first step, of course, is to believe in a certain scientific theory. However, this theory can only be improved if it's tested and challenged, as if it is actually false.

But what about having a 'No, but Yes' attitude to science? In this scenario, we would have to first deny all scientific theories as false, and then devise new ones. The reason why this attitude could be counter-productive is that, new theories would then be highly revered as incontestable, and further progress is prevented as these new theories are now being accepted as indisputable facts.

...

It is probably obvious that 'Yes, but No' can be the most productive attitude, compared to the other three. Or is it?