The corruption of science:
http://www.quadrant.org.au/magazine/issue/2011/7-8/fishy-science-on-the-great-barrier-reef
"For a scientist to speak out against the widespread misconduct that has developed is, at the least, to invite strong disapproval from one’s peers. Almost certainly it would be highly detrimental to obtaining research funding, approval for publication and career advancement. Most researchers simply raise no objections and accept what is happening. Even if not guilty of any overt misconduct of their own, they are complicit in the prevailing dishonesty. Worse yet, the suppression of critical thinking has resulted in the creation of environmentally correct beliefs which are unquestionable but which incorporate fundamentally incorrect understandings of the real world. Science has been badly corrupted and scientists are no longer to be trusted just because they are scientists."
Will our world be better or worse off? In the meantime some sound advice from the author:
"...it would be prudent to regard any claims attributed to scientists as you would those made by a used car salesman, politician, telemarketer or anyone else trying to sell you something. Don’t be impressed by the soothsaying, proclamations of authority, techno-babble and eco-waffle or the chorus of researchers singing for their supper. Insist on answers to questions and to seeing the evidence—not just a selection, all of it.
Until the questions are answered and the evidence is examined in detail, don’t buy. You don’t have to commit to an opinion on everything that comes up. Reserving your opinion until you are well informed about a matter is far better than having one that is poorly informed and wrong. In short, the best way to avoid being fooled is to be a sceptic."
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