Comment by zemvpferreira
7 hours ago
As a former scientist it's embarrassing how easily the dismal state of science today could have been predicted decades before by applying Goodhart's Law, or any simple train of thought on incentives and moral hazard. Instead we chose to assume scientists collectively behave on a higher plane. No wonder the general public distrusts "the intelectual elite", we deserved it.
This article is about MD doctors, not scientists (although there may be some MD-PhDs in it, and yes MDs can get research positions).
MD doctors poll at extraordinarily high levels of trust, over almost any other professional group in the United States. So it really isn't correct to directly link this article's topic to "distrust". The effect you're talking about may exist in science, but this article is essentially a counter example to the effect you propose: clinicians publishing bullshit, but retain a high level of public trust.
Especially because the article is basically entirely quoting practicing scientists who identified this problem in the first place! More real scientific training or collaborating for clinicians who want to (or have to) do research could potentially improve the situation.
MD doctors (and even to a large extent DO doctors nowadays) are philosophically grounded on science. An MD fundamentally practices science. That used to be one of the key differences between MD and DO physicians, but science has been so successful at advancing the standard of care that DOs cannot ignore it anymore. That's just to say that MDs are expected to be fluent in science and it's not some arbitrary expectation of bureaucracy run amok.
Due to the high trust they get from the public, I have run into many MDs who are used to making unfounded assertions with little pushback.
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>Instead we chose to assume scientists collectively behave on a higher plane.
People are people.
If the solutions are so simple, what are they? Yes, incentives are distorted, but what system - that does not rely on everyone being on a higher plane - would have better incentives?
By your definition, every human endeavor is dismal and always has been - all are corrupted and flawed to some degree. Is there evidence that current science is more dismal than others or than before? You can look at any day in history and see people saying the same things about how it's so dismal and not like the good old days.
> No wonder the general public distrusts "the intelectual elite", we deserved it.
The general public has no idea about scientific publishing, publish or perish, or the distorted incentives it creates. Science has delivered at an incredible level for centuries, arguably more than any other human enterprise. Covid-19 vaccines were available in record time - it wasn't the science that caused it to go somewhat off the rails.