[HN Gopher] We don't know how to fix science
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       We don't know how to fix science
        
       Author : bookofjoe
       Score  : 13 points
       Date   : 2022-07-26 21:23 UTC (1 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.worksinprogress.co)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.worksinprogress.co)
        
       | OnlyMortal wrote:
       | Yes we do. Stop the "publish or be damned" daftness and hire
       | people who are actually trained in the disciplines.
       | 
       | That will cost more but that's a solution.
        
         | mjevans wrote:
         | Q: Science is 'broken' (faked / rosy bias in data and
         | publication, less useful results, lack of public trust, etc).
         | // "How do we ''fix'' Science?"
         | 
         | Hypothesis: TL;DR Goodhart's law: 'the measure became the
         | target and thus is no longer a good measure' -- Publish or die
         | / secure funding or die has lead to risk averse research, a
         | lack of research into new fields, and a lack of reproduction /
         | verification of existing research (checking the known is not
         | 'sexy' / profitable).
         | 
         | Experiment: Proposal: Create a 200 year funding guaranteed
         | tenure tracking inflation funded public domain / commons
         | expansion researcher reward that ensures a life long
         | appointment (and retirement) based on some other excellence
         | requirement. Maybe revisit former initiatives like 'project
         | paperclip' (WWII) for criteria suggestions.
         | 
         | Data Collection / Reports: Conduct the real experiment, for the
         | first of at least 200 years OR until all enrolled applicants
         | retire / expire. Issue interim reports every couple years (4,
         | 10, something) to see if clear results contrary to the typical
         | environment persist.
        
         | throwawaymaths wrote:
         | Read the first paragraph. We don't know if those strategies
         | will work; there are no data.
        
           | gonzo41 wrote:
           | Sounds like a great moment to try an experiment.
        
       | openfuture wrote:
       | We need to structure our whole society around science, with that
       | as our only foundation and shared goal.
       | 
       | Anything less than that and it will be undermined. It's just not
       | an easy pill to swallow.
        
       | willis936 wrote:
       | What is the thesis here? Inaction because of insufficient
       | certainty? Isn't that the exact issue that landed us in this
       | mess?
       | 
       | Science requires action in the face of uncertainty.
        
       | NegativeLatency wrote:
       | Maybe make academia not have a reputation for burning people out?
        
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       (page generated 2022-07-26 23:00 UTC)