3 ms·

In the real world scientists do look at claims by others, consider if those people are actually domain-specific experts in the area they are making claims in, a

• kkoncevicius 5y ago
  > In the real world scientists do look at claims by others, consider if those people are actually domain-specific experts in the area they are making claims in, and judge accordingly every day. Individual scientists are people and they do what they wish. They have friends, enemies, biases, bad personality traits, and temper tantrums. Some may also believe in voodoo, karma, or reincarnation. But this is not part of science, these are just traits of the individual. This is the same about rejecting something because the author is "not an expert". Individuals might do it, but it has no place in peer review or other form of official commentary.
  • nemo 5y ago
    It's not just individual scientists (who certainly aren't going to seriously entertain every crank they encounter - that would be insane), but institutions that hire based on expertise, consider which papers to print based on expertise, and so on. In science & other expertise-driven fields we assess competence & credibility when hiring, judging proposals, tenure, awards, research, etc. CVs & history are relevant and considered. That's the way an institutional expertise-driven domain like the sciences works.
• hacknat 5y ago
  In your world Einstein doesn't exist.
  • nemo 5y ago
    Einstein exists - he worked at the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton and was a part of the institutional science of his day which was very much driven by showing expertise to gain attention from the established figures or start a career as a researcher - they don't accept walk-ups consults from strangers at universities, but most especially not at the IAS.
    • deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]
• native_samples 5y ago
  You're right, and this pseudo-scientific approach is one of the major reasons that there is now such widespread distrust of supposed experts. Way too often people catch them turning a blind eye to clearly invalid methodologies because it came from a peer, or refusing to acknowledge claims or criticisms because it came from outside their little clique. This is not behaviour we want to encourage or tolerate.
  • nemo 5y ago
    Whatever discipline you're working in, you could invite uninformed strangers to educate you about your job and your field for a while and see how that goes. Experts benefit from their expertise which include being taken seriously when discussing those areas of expertise (as well as being able to get jobs in specialized fields). Expertise is a good thing, it's because we encourage it that the world works as well as it does. We don't really have a meritocracy, but by moving scientific institutions towards judging, selecting, and hiring based on expertise, they've done better than in the past when there was more nepotism and favors at many research universities. Granting the benefit of the doubt to those who have proven themselves able to do the work is rational, to grant the benefit of the doubt to random people regarding their expertise is deeply foolish.
    • native_samples 5y ago
      As a programmer who has worked in enterprise, financial contexts and a big tech firm, I can assure you I have never been lacking in random non-programmers "educating" me about how to do my job, sometimes through the medium of passing regulations that don't make any technical sense. The idea that experts don't get interfered with normally is an academic idea, a projection of for they think the world works everywhere. But fundamentally you're still conflating terms. Many people presented as experts by the academy, media and governments turn out on close inspection to not have actually proven themselves able to do the work! They are "experts" and "scientists" but not experts or scientists.