I think this "debate" just proves to me that our technology has become so advanced that it's indistinguishable from magic.
For example, almost no one can explain how GPS works. Even if you understand the general principle (that is, if you know the speed of light, and precise time of 4 satellites, you can derive your coordinates plus the current time), the technology involved (cesium clocks orbiting in space, time accuracy to 100 nanosecond at the receiver, measuring the speed of light to 9 decimal places) to give you that 1m resolution is staggering.
Similar magic exists with OLED TV's streaming 4k Netflix, COVID19 vaccine being developed in 4 months, etc etc.
So to an average Joe who doesn't have any experience with the scientific discovery process, it's all basically magic. And once it's magic, then one magic is not that different from another magic.
I have experienced the scientific discovery process first hand, and how many different disciplines interlock with each other to model the real world more and more accurately. So it's easy for me to read Toole's book and trust the results if the methodology seems sound (aka, double blind tests).
If I was an average Joe, that guy on U-Toob sounds really convincing. Yeah, that guy who spent $10,000 to prove to himself that the earth was not flat.
It's a failure of education, I would say. But education is neither desirable nor desired for most parts.