3 ms·

I wish they didn't use the term "crisis" for this. It's nothing like the problems other disciplines are having with respect to replication failure - where mayb

I wish they didn't use the term "crisis" for this. It's nothing like the problems other disciplines are having with respect to replication failure - where maybe the term is appropriate. Physics can still explain / predict a shit-load of phenomena. It's not a crisis - just more work to do.

brummm 5y ago
I mean, replication failures are a result of bad science, bad analysis and a poor understanding of statistics in many cases. It's not so much a crisis in the state of human knowledge but the state of the education of the scientists in those other disciplines.
- naasking 5y ago
  It's a crisis because it's so widespread and the denial that it's a problem is strong.
- pasadenasunset 5y ago
  The phenomena are related, though. One could argue that the social sciences, with greater latitude in definitions of measurement and thresholds for statistical significance, had been building sand castles for decades. Eventually, the entire rotten edifice will collapse. In contrast, the greater restrictions of theory and measurement in physical science didn’t easily allow researchers to do pointless hand-waving that looked good. In some sense, the “crisis” in physics is less embarassing, as it is simply theorists bumping into limits enforced by reality. They didn’t make it up as they went along. I’m also doubtful the lauded “open science” movement will accomplish anything besides the mass transfer of intellectual property to centralized data platforms, to be mined by replication specialists. I’m biased, admittedly, after watching an APA zoom conference on the advantages and wonders of open science, and why researchers should join in. The lead presenter’s #1 reason to join open science was “that I didn’t lose my data anymore, it was all nicely and neatly centralized on the OSF server.” Speechless.
- robwwilliams 5y ago
  In biology, neuroscience, and psychology replication failure is often the result of an impedance mismatch between reductive models and real systems complexity. This is an acute problem in animal research where 90% of work gets away with using a single genotype in a single environment. And then the “wise” old heads at NIH wonder that there is a replication bias? Really?
ordu 5y ago
They refer to a crisis in a sense Thomas Kuhn used. The point where paradigm shift is needed. Physics has experience with it. General relativity theory was a paradigm shift following a crisis.
- javajosh 5y ago
  Kuhn is a red herring. The issue is that physicists are too far removed from experimental checks. The scientific method requires experiment to confirm a hypothesis. The separation of theory from experiment has enabled a generation (or three) of physicists to ignore experiment entirely, spending happy careers playing with the implications of unfalsifiable theories like M-Brain theory or string theory. One gets the impression of a group of very smart people hiding behind their credentials, first unwilling to let their theories be tested, and next brazenly claiming that their theories cannot be tested, and that's okay. That's not okay, and they should lose their jobs.
  - KolenCh 5y ago
    I'm not completely disagreeing with everything you said, but > they should lose their jobs. is too much. You should also study the history of string theory and how their early days are miserable (too difficult to have a career as people denies string theory as physics.) The correct approach would be to invest in string theory but also any other proponents of "theory of everything". The main issue today is that virtually only string theorist can make a career of being theoretical particle physicists. The very fact is that there's no any other theories beyond the standard model that are falsifiable. If you require any theory to be falsifiable then no theoretical physicists can have a job. Not even the invention of general relativity would qualifies (remember although we can now falsify GM, it wasn't initially.)
  - 11101010001100 5y ago
    If that is your impression, then I suggest you test your hypothesis. Go talk to these physicists and explain your concerns. Many are approachable and responsive.
    - 5y ago
colechristensen 5y ago
I wish people used the word crisis less and with a more narrow definition restricted to a short time which unexpectedly forces decisions or changes with long ranging consequences, and not a synonym for “shit is bad”.

brummm 5y ago

I mean, replication failures are a result of bad science, bad analysis and a poor understanding of statistics in many cases. It's not so much a crisis in the state of human knowledge but the state of the education of the scientists in those other disciplines.

naasking 5y ago
It's a crisis because it's so widespread and the denial that it's a problem is strong.
pasadenasunset 5y ago
The phenomena are related, though. One could argue that the social sciences, with greater latitude in definitions of measurement and thresholds for statistical significance, had been building sand castles for decades. Eventually, the entire rotten edifice will collapse. In contrast, the greater restrictions of theory and measurement in physical science didn’t easily allow researchers to do pointless hand-waving that looked good. In some sense, the “crisis” in physics is less embarassing, as it is simply theorists bumping into limits enforced by reality. They didn’t make it up as they went along. I’m also doubtful the lauded “open science” movement will accomplish anything besides the mass transfer of intellectual property to centralized data platforms, to be mined by replication specialists. I’m biased, admittedly, after watching an APA zoom conference on the advantages and wonders of open science, and why researchers should join in. The lead presenter’s #1 reason to join open science was “that I didn’t lose my data anymore, it was all nicely and neatly centralized on the OSF server.” Speechless.
robwwilliams 5y ago
In biology, neuroscience, and psychology replication failure is often the result of an impedance mismatch between reductive models and real systems complexity. This is an acute problem in animal research where 90% of work gets away with using a single genotype in a single environment. And then the “wise” old heads at NIH wonder that there is a replication bias? Really?

ordu 5y ago

They refer to a crisis in a sense Thomas Kuhn used. The point where paradigm shift is needed. Physics has experience with it. General relativity theory was a paradigm shift following a crisis.

javajosh 5y ago
Kuhn is a red herring. The issue is that physicists are too far removed from experimental checks. The scientific method requires experiment to confirm a hypothesis. The separation of theory from experiment has enabled a generation (or three) of physicists to ignore experiment entirely, spending happy careers playing with the implications of unfalsifiable theories like M-Brain theory or string theory. One gets the impression of a group of very smart people hiding behind their credentials, first unwilling to let their theories be tested, and next brazenly claiming that their theories cannot be tested, and that's okay. That's not okay, and they should lose their jobs.
- KolenCh 5y ago
  I'm not completely disagreeing with everything you said, but > they should lose their jobs. is too much. You should also study the history of string theory and how their early days are miserable (too difficult to have a career as people denies string theory as physics.) The correct approach would be to invest in string theory but also any other proponents of "theory of everything". The main issue today is that virtually only string theorist can make a career of being theoretical particle physicists. The very fact is that there's no any other theories beyond the standard model that are falsifiable. If you require any theory to be falsifiable then no theoretical physicists can have a job. Not even the invention of general relativity would qualifies (remember although we can now falsify GM, it wasn't initially.)
- 11101010001100 5y ago
  If that is your impression, then I suggest you test your hypothesis. Go talk to these physicists and explain your concerns. Many are approachable and responsive.
  - 5y ago

colechristensen 5y ago

I wish people used the word crisis less and with a more narrow definition restricted to a short time which unexpectedly forces decisions or changes with long ranging consequences, and not a synonym for “shit is bad”.