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It is much easier to pretend to do science than actually do science. When the system rewards imitation science as highly as real science then you can expect tha
by danieltillett 7y ago
It is much easier to pretend to do science than actually do science. When the system rewards imitation science as highly as real science then you can expect that you will get a lot of lookalike science.
Why work hard collecting data from 1000 people and finding nothing exciting, when collecting data from 50 is accceptable with the added kicker that chance alone might throw up something supporting the politics of your peers.
- swebs 7y agoThere's actually a term for this! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_science https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cargo_cult_science
- rndgermandude 7y agoI have recently seen a hard uptick of social "science" papers with a N=1, where said N is the author describing their personal experience, i.e. biased and highly subjective anecdotes. Mind you, otherwise these papers look very "sciency", with tons of citations and footnotes sprinkled in, and quite often with grant disclosures at the end. At least, this is my N=1 experience ;)