An important scientific study proves that the result of a scientific study depends entirely on where its funding comes from.

Bill Taylor The scientific establishment, like most establishments, protects its power, prestige and funding at any cost. The Root Cause of Academic Groupthink shows why organizations stick with wrong ideas or policies long after their weaknesses are well known:In other words, the safest, surest, most common path to success in academia involves telling those already designated experts precisely what they most want to hear: That their own work had been so groundbreaking that the most interesting and exciting path forward is to build upon it.Suppose you’re part of the senior faculty of a department committed to the phlogiston theory (i.e., debunked 18th c. chemistry). Two candidates compete for a junior slot. The first presents a marginal tweak on phlogiston citing your own work and that of several colleagues. The second presents groundbreaking proof that phlogiston is wrong.Who gets the job? The candidate whose work flatters you and your colleague? Or the candidate who’s shown that you’ve dedicated your career to nonsense? Now ask the question about climate change instead of phlogiston. Then ask it about DEI. The answer is always the same. Experts who’ve staked their careers and prestige on the validity of a theory will always hire, promote, and reward those who burnish that theory.I’ve termed this phenomenon “incremental outrageousness.” It defines the basic incentive structure of academia—and of our entire credentialed class.https://www.realclearwire.com/…/the_root_cause_of…

REALCLEARWIRE.COMThe Root Cause of Academic GroupthinkThe Root Cause of Academic Groupthink

• 2w
• Like
• Reply