In the Guardian, of all places;
The Bohannon hoax and LaCour/Green retraction have a lot in common. Scientific research was manufactured, which resulted in claims that appealed to some popular views, and the media broadly and uncritically promoted the results, advocating popular actions in response. MORE
the money quotes….
“….doing science means that pretty much everything that can be predicted to occur has been predicted to occur by someone. … just about any combination of factors can be used to explain observed outcomes,… using real world outcomes to select the science that we prefer is a recipe for being fooled by randomness.”…
&….
” If the effect you are looking for requires a complex model, data transformed away from intuitive units or sophisticated statistics to detect, then the effect that you think you have found is probably not practically significant, even if you are convinced that it truly exists.”…
& furthermore….
“…using science as a true/false bludgeon to score points in public debates chips away…at the integrity of science…Securing scientific integrity and winning a political fight are not always the same thing.”
…to which I might succinctly add……’Duuuuu….uh’
Why isn’t it “settled science” that
XY = male
and
XX = female
???