In science we trust… up to a point
by Adam Rutherford from on (#J5KK)
Eminent journals and peer-reviewed academic papers are supposed to convince us of scientific truth. Here's why we should all be wary"
Science is emphatically not a belief system. It doesn't require faith, and it works: civilisation is built on science working. But it's a full-time job to keep on top of one subject, and impossible to stay up to date across a range of fields. We have to trust that the system works. But does it?
This is the process: scientists do the research - primarily paid for by you - which gets written up and peer-reviewed before publication as a paper in a journal. Getting published in a journal is not a mark of truth but that your research is credible enough to warrant entering the literature for ongoing scrutiny. Published papers are the benchmark of academic success, and the media's main focus.
Continue reading...