WHY SCIENCE JOURNALS CAN NO LONGER BE TRUSTED

 WesleyJ Smith: Why we can’t trust the science journals

National Review, 5 September 2023


A climate scientist has written that he pulledhis punches in a climate-change article in order to be published bythe prestigious journal Nature. From, “I Left Out the Full Truth to Get My Climate ChangePaper Published,” by Patrick T. Brown:
 
"The paper I just published—“Climate warming increases extreme daily wildfire growth risk inCalifornia”—focuses exclusively on how climate change hasaffected extreme wildfire behavior. I knew not to try to quantify keyaspects other than climate change in my research because it would dilute thestory that prestigious journals like Nature and itsrival, Science, want to tell.
 
This matters because it is critically important for scientists to be publishedin high-profile journals; in many ways, they are the gatekeepers for careersuccess in academia. And the editors of these journals have made it abundantlyclear, both by what they publish and what they reject, that they want climatepapers that support certain preapproved narratives—even when those narrativescome at the expense of broader knowledge for society."
 
In other words, if Brown provided a thorough and nuanced study, it would neverhave passed the ideological blockade he knew controls the scientific discourseon this important topic.
 
Brown explains why we see such an anti-science paradigm:

"In theory, scientific research should prize curiosity, dispassionateobjectivity, and a commitment to uncovering the truth. Surely those are thequalities that editors of scientific journals should value.

In reality, though, the biases of the editors (and the reviewers they call uponto evaluate submissions) exert a major influence on the collective output ofentire fields. They select what gets published from a large pool of entries,and in doing so, they also shape how research is conducted more broadly. Savvyresearchers tailor their studies to maximize the likelihood that their work isaccepted. I know this because I am one of them."

Brown left academia so he could engage in better science. And, that allowed himto write this article. […]

Brown has done a true service in illustrating how science has been distorted bynonscientific agendas at the highest level of “expert” discourse — aided andabetted by the media. Until and unless that changes, public trust in thescientific and medical sectors will continue to fall. 
 
Full post

via climate science

https://ift.tt/aEk4buX

September 14, 2023 at 01:58AM

Leave a comment