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This is something that people have to accept: the target audience of scientific papers is other researchers, not laypeople. Ideally we need more effort spent on
by shmel 5y ago
This is something that people have to accept: the target audience of scientific papers is other researchers, not laypeople. Ideally we need more effort spent on synthesis of prior research. In my field (ML) very few prominent researchers write overview papers summarizing state of the art even over last few years. There is little academic incentive in doing so. Laypeople should read books written for them (like Hawking's books), not bleeding edge research papers.
- SpicyLemonZest 5y agoThe problem is deeper than this, though. All of the "scientific method" theory which is meant to ensure reliable results applies only to experiments and observational studies. Syntheses are just prose - there's no particular reason you should have confidence in a synthesis if you don't think the author shares your values or it contradicts something else you strongly believe is true.