4 ms·

I'm expecting that we will be hearing a lot of correlations about microplastics in the coming years. I am not necessarily expecting that they will hold up under

I'm expecting that we will be hearing a lot of correlations about microplastics in the coming years. I am not necessarily expecting that they will hold up under scrutiny. I don't think present day academia is incentivized to be accurate, representative of the truth, or helpful in any way to the public, and the fact that this study is paywalled is reinforcing that belief.

zug_zug 2y ago
Yeah, there will be some incorrect papers. But there are errors in the other direction too. How many deleterious effects will never be proven scientifically because it's incredibly exhausting to get thousands of participants and quantify their subjective wellbeing in a controlled way?
deleted 2y ago
[deleted]
squigz 2y ago
You specify present-day academia. Do you feel as though there was a point in the past where this wasn't true? If so, when, and why do you think it's changed?
- Covzire 2y ago
  My guess is pre-Moon Landings, pre-Peer Review and pre-DoEd.
  - squigz 2y ago
    What does the moon landing have to do with it?
    - Covzire 2y ago
      Nothing, it's a reference to the period not the event itself. Something went wrong in Academia sometime between the 60's and 80s, to the point where papers today routinely get both peer-approved and simultaneously can't be reproduced. Something is very wrong with our ethics.
      - squigz 2y ago
        Is there data on the reproducibility of papers both pre- and post- the alleged academic shift?
slowmovintarget 2y ago
Why would anyone with a viewpoint of the last 75 years expect anything other than microplastics are harmful? Lead? Great material, tastes good in wine! Stops knocks in gasoline! Kills our children. Asbestos? Wonderful insulator! Great cheap material for keeping buildings warm during the winter. Causes cancer. Margarine? Lower calories than butter, almost tastes just like it! Causes heart disease. Teflon? Awesome for non-stick pans! Non-stick all the things! Causes cancer. Benadryl? Great anti-allergy med, dries you up and helps you sleep during hay-fever season! Causes dementia with extended use. BPA? Great cheap material for making water bottles and food containers... Causes cancer. Peppermint flavored Tums... The binding agent for the peppermint was a possible carcinogen. They pulled mint-flavored Tums off the market for a while until they could figure out a new way to make it. We already see microplastics causing mutation and other issues in sea life. Why would we expect this to go any differently than what we've been learning about all these other modern conveniences?

zug_zug 2y ago

Yeah, there will be some incorrect papers. But there are errors in the other direction too. How many deleterious effects will never be proven scientifically because it's incredibly exhausting to get thousands of participants and quantify their subjective wellbeing in a controlled way?

deleted 2y ago

[deleted]

squigz 2y ago

You specify present-day academia. Do you feel as though there was a point in the past where this wasn't true? If so, when, and why do you think it's changed?

Covzire 2y ago
My guess is pre-Moon Landings, pre-Peer Review and pre-DoEd.
- squigz 2y ago
  What does the moon landing have to do with it?
  - Covzire 2y ago
    Nothing, it's a reference to the period not the event itself. Something went wrong in Academia sometime between the 60's and 80s, to the point where papers today routinely get both peer-approved and simultaneously can't be reproduced. Something is very wrong with our ethics.
    - squigz 2y ago
      Is there data on the reproducibility of papers both pre- and post- the alleged academic shift?

slowmovintarget 2y ago

Why would anyone with a viewpoint of the last 75 years expect anything other than microplastics are harmful? Lead? Great material, tastes good in wine! Stops knocks in gasoline! Kills our children. Asbestos? Wonderful insulator! Great cheap material for keeping buildings warm during the winter. Causes cancer. Margarine? Lower calories than butter, almost tastes just like it! Causes heart disease. Teflon? Awesome for non-stick pans! Non-stick all the things! Causes cancer. Benadryl? Great anti-allergy med, dries you up and helps you sleep during hay-fever season! Causes dementia with extended use. BPA? Great cheap material for making water bottles and food containers... Causes cancer. Peppermint flavored Tums... The binding agent for the peppermint was a possible carcinogen. They pulled mint-flavored Tums off the market for a while until they could figure out a new way to make it. We already see microplastics causing mutation and other issues in sea life. Why would we expect this to go any differently than what we've been learning about all these other modern conveniences?