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The problem with that is that when you propose a hypothesis and someone pays you to prove it, anything other than a positive result is also considered wasted mo
by paxy 8y ago
The problem with that is that when you propose a hypothesis and someone pays you to prove it, anything other than a positive result is also considered wasted money. This is the reason why we have all the paid-for junk science out there today.
- ChuckMcM 8y agoAt least the grants I am directly aware of there was no pressure to 'confirm' the hypothesis, on the individual researcher they may have felt they wouldn't get a paper out of it if it didn't confirm but the grant was written to the experiment proposal and experimental controls.
- protomyth 8y agoFor the non-STEM (e.g. social) research grants there always seemed to be a bit of a nudge to get the hypothesis confirmed because it was often political (government) or purpose driven (NGO or patron). I sometimes have wondered if the same dynamic had crept into STEM research grants.
- dnautics 8y agoPerhaps we should have more of these: > When you have a patron that wants you go out and follow your curiosity, where ever it might lead, that is great.
- ChuckMcM 8y agoI think it would be really useful. And if the giving pledge is real, it seems plausible that a couple of hundred million might be pledged for "pure science"