5 ms·

When I hear about studies like this (about hot issues) it always makes me wonder what sort of studies that go against the current social norms are not being pub

When I hear about studies like this (about hot issues) it always makes me wonder what sort of studies that go against the current social norms are not being published because they make some people uncomfortable. Most of the pop science these days seems to be about confirming existing biases/assumptions of the current zeitgeist.

keiferski 7y ago
The Journal of Controversial Ideas will hopefully address this somewhat: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/philosophers-will-launch-interdisciplinary-journal-allows-authors-publish-under https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/philosophers-...
- noname120 7y ago
  Problem is that a big part of the incentivization structure of the scientific world relies on citation counts. Publishing anonymously doesn't give you any credits. This is part of the reason why experiments with negative results often never get published[1]. Writing a scientific paper takes time—which could be instead used to write the next high-impact paper. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_bias
goto11 7y ago
For issues such as this, results in either direction will make some people uncomfortable or even angry. Some people will be enraged by the suggestion there is systemic bias against women, while other people will be enraged by the suggestion that there isn't. This is what makes the issue a "hot button" or flame bait issue.
- brenden2 7y ago
  Regardless of which side of the fence you're on, what's considered acceptable is just a matter of cultural norms within a given context or group of people at a specific time. If you don't agree with that cultural norm, then you're "the bad guy".
- chatmasta 7y ago
  The real issue is people becoming “enraged” in response to reading something on the internet. We can hardly control what comes to our attention. By responding emotionally to anything that rises to our attention, we cede control of our emotions to outside actors.
  - goto11 7y ago
    Only if you don't consider bias an actual problem. If it is an actual problem then surely that would be the "the real issue", not the secondary effect of people getting angry about it?
- jlawson 7y ago
  Results in either direction will make some people angry, but the power differential in terms of who will actually punish dissenters is obvious. One of those sides gets you fired for arguing it respectfully in good faith (e.g. Damore) and the other doesn't. More evidence is the asymmetry in your own statement: >Some people will be enraged by the suggesting that there is systemic bias against women, while other people will be enraged by the suggestion that there isn't. You never even acknowledge the possibility that someone could think there's a systemic bias against men.
cptnapalm 7y ago
There's one case I know of: stereotype threat. It was found that there was a significant amount of publication bias in favor of the stereotype threat being significant. Despite larger, better funded studies finding it to be barely anything to absolutely nothing, it is still being blamed for disparities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat#Publication_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat#Publication_...

keiferski 7y ago

The Journal of Controversial Ideas will hopefully address this somewhat: https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/philosophers-will-launch-interdisciplinary-journal-allows-authors-publish-under https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2018/11/13/philosophers-...

noname120 7y ago
Problem is that a big part of the incentivization structure of the scientific world relies on citation counts. Publishing anonymously doesn't give you any credits. This is part of the reason why experiments with negative results often never get published[1]. Writing a scientific paper takes time—which could be instead used to write the next high-impact paper. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Publication_bias

goto11 7y ago

For issues such as this, results in either direction will make some people uncomfortable or even angry. Some people will be enraged by the suggestion there is systemic bias against women, while other people will be enraged by the suggestion that there isn't. This is what makes the issue a "hot button" or flame bait issue.

brenden2 7y ago
Regardless of which side of the fence you're on, what's considered acceptable is just a matter of cultural norms within a given context or group of people at a specific time. If you don't agree with that cultural norm, then you're "the bad guy".
chatmasta 7y ago
The real issue is people becoming “enraged” in response to reading something on the internet. We can hardly control what comes to our attention. By responding emotionally to anything that rises to our attention, we cede control of our emotions to outside actors.
- goto11 7y ago
  Only if you don't consider bias an actual problem. If it is an actual problem then surely that would be the "the real issue", not the secondary effect of people getting angry about it?
jlawson 7y ago
Results in either direction will make some people angry, but the power differential in terms of who will actually punish dissenters is obvious. One of those sides gets you fired for arguing it respectfully in good faith (e.g. Damore) and the other doesn't. More evidence is the asymmetry in your own statement: >Some people will be enraged by the suggesting that there is systemic bias against women, while other people will be enraged by the suggestion that there isn't. You never even acknowledge the possibility that someone could think there's a systemic bias against men.

cptnapalm 7y ago

There's one case I know of: stereotype threat. It was found that there was a significant amount of publication bias in favor of the stereotype threat being significant. Despite larger, better funded studies finding it to be barely anything to absolutely nothing, it is still being blamed for disparities. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat#Publication_bias https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stereotype_threat#Publication_...