tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post1386170061857709893..comments2024-03-27T19:38:49.490-04:00Comments on The Silicon Graybeard: How Do You Tell Junk Science from Good?SiGraybeardhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-68197890763067692662012-03-18T19:15:57.757-04:002012-03-18T19:15:57.757-04:00Good science != funding
Bad science (politically c...Good science != funding<br />Bad science (politically correct) = funding.<br /><br />Quantum particle theory sounds sexy and's politically safe.<br />It gets left-over funding.<br /><br />I think that pretty much covers it<br />QQuiziklenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-29020589984219836872012-03-18T14:36:01.991-04:002012-03-18T14:36:01.991-04:00For anyone reluctant to go see a video with descri...For anyone reluctant to go see a video with descriptions around it, the video is called "Science for Smart People" (as opposed to for dummies) and it's worth watching. <br /><br />It's almost 47 minutes long, and if you're interested in this topic, it supplements my small column extremely well. There's coverage of a lot of things I didn't cover, like observational studies vs. controlled studies (clinical trials in medicine). It's also funny, and I'm really a big fan of funny.SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-44478960302252265392012-03-18T11:25:28.808-04:002012-03-18T11:25:28.808-04:00Good point. I used to read more papers online; mo...Good point. I used to read more papers online; most journals now want you to pay for a subscription before you can read anything. <br /><br />From most useful to least useful, you can break down a paper that has been reported on this way: <br />actual paper<br />abstract<br />press release.<br /><br />You are probably just getting the press release version when you catch a headline on TV. Occasionally, you get the abstract version. I have read papers where I thought the data didn't support the abstract, let alone the press release. <br /><br />Publications and citations are the "currency" of academia. Colleges want to get as many published as they can, and I think everybody has heard that for working scientists the command is "publish or perish".SiGraybeardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00280583031339062059noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-68619602447791605792012-03-18T11:02:46.731-04:002012-03-18T11:02:46.731-04:00First off, if you are reading "scientists say...First off, if you are reading "scientists say" you are reading what a journalist thought a scientist said. One of the more illuminating exercises I ever did was read an original experiment on the effects of caffeine on aerobic athletic performance. The original research showed no clear link to caffeine and performance, but tracing the "citations" through several other scholarly articles by the time it was a second hand citation others clearly believed that caffeine was a performance enhancing drug.<br /><br />Scientists don't always get it right, and our public schools are nothing more than indoctrination machines that use "argument from authority" to squash any healthy skepticism they find.SordidPandahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00657526230826604643noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-64512445837995923262012-03-18T00:21:23.806-04:002012-03-18T00:21:23.806-04:00Jacob Bronowski and James Burke both ended their s...Jacob Bronowski and James Burke both ended their series' with the admonition that if *proper* science isn't taught in our schools, along with skepticism and rational thought, our civilization was doomed.<br />And I agree with both of them.....drjimhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05647484115197408897noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-42091928237426317902012-03-17T23:02:12.157-04:002012-03-17T23:02:12.157-04:00http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1RXvBveht0http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1RXvBveht0kfgnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1592992209402300549.post-30494286735121572472012-03-17T22:38:40.289-04:002012-03-17T22:38:40.289-04:00If Obama is for it, it' junk science.If Obama is for it, it' junk science.Tango Juliethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07593296126387219845noreply@blogger.com