In my time in academia (math/cs), public criticism of other people's work was extremely rare. Not for the (somewhat strange) reasons listed in the article, but

In my time in academia (math/cs), public criticism of other people's work was extremely rare. Not for the (somewhat strange) reasons listed in the article, but because it never ever reflects well on anyone involved. I knew a researcher who publicly challenged some obviously bullshit research, and basically got absolutely nothing out of it, apart from a certain reputation. The correct thing to do is just ignore the bullshit. If you want to challenge good work with some gaps, there certainly are ways to do it without appearing critical.