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Actually, companies pay universities to conduct fake research that "shows" that their products work.

WalterBright 5y ago
That's a good point. But if the companies are paying for research in how to build better products, they aren't going to pay for bullshit research.
- mhh__ 5y ago
  It has happened before i.e. Hendrik Schon, however these incidents are more to do with humanity as a species than their employers.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    Nothing is 100%. I'm talking about incentives here, and people do things almost entirely on selfish impulses. Money is a powerful motivator, and people are strongly motivated to not spend their own money on bullshit. That motivation is absent when government funds things - but other motivations remain.
    - mhh__ 5y ago
      Sure, I just think its an interesting story considering he might have been nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics for totally fraudulent work
      - WalterBright 5y ago
        Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for work later shown to be complete frauds. Those severely damaged the value of getting one. I know I don't attach any respect for Pulitzer Prizes.
- _jal 5y ago
  They pay for bullshit research all the time. It comes from the advertising budget instead of the development budget.
  - WalterBright 5y ago
    If they were paying for bullshit research, they got what they wanted. Otherwise, they'd stop.
native_samples 5y ago
That's the same problem in disguise. The reason they don't do the "our product is great" research themselves is because if they did people would switch their brains on and properly evaluate it. They pay universities (i.e. government funded organizations) because of the false belief in our society that government funding means universities are neutral, trustworthy, competent research institutions, when in fact they are really quite corrupt and filled with easily bribed researchers who will publish basically anything if it means they get another paper or grant out of it. If/when the perception of government funded researchers finally aligns with the reality, businesses would stop doing that because there'd be no reputational misalignment to exploit.

That's a good point. But if the companies are paying for research in how to build better products, they aren't going to pay for bullshit research.

mhh__ 5y ago
It has happened before i.e. Hendrik Schon, however these incidents are more to do with humanity as a species than their employers.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  Nothing is 100%. I'm talking about incentives here, and people do things almost entirely on selfish impulses. Money is a powerful motivator, and people are strongly motivated to not spend their own money on bullshit. That motivation is absent when government funds things - but other motivations remain.
  - mhh__ 5y ago
    Sure, I just think its an interesting story considering he might have been nominated for the Nobel Prize in physics for totally fraudulent work
    - WalterBright 5y ago
      Pulitzer Prizes have been awarded for work later shown to be complete frauds. Those severely damaged the value of getting one. I know I don't attach any respect for Pulitzer Prizes.
_jal 5y ago
They pay for bullshit research all the time. It comes from the advertising budget instead of the development budget.
- WalterBright 5y ago
  If they were paying for bullshit research, they got what they wanted. Otherwise, they'd stop.

native_samples 5y ago

That's the same problem in disguise. The reason they don't do the "our product is great" research themselves is because if they did people would switch their brains on and properly evaluate it. They pay universities (i.e. government funded organizations) because of the false belief in our society that government funding means universities are neutral, trustworthy, competent research institutions, when in fact they are really quite corrupt and filled with easily bribed researchers who will publish basically anything if it means they get another paper or grant out of it. If/when the perception of government funded researchers finally aligns with the reality, businesses would stop doing that because there'd be no reputational misalignment to exploit.