Nullius in Verba?
November 23, 2009
An interesting little controversy is brewing over suppression of dissent and alternative views by prominent members of the Royal Society. Specific charges include:
- Conspiring to avoid public scrutiny
- Insulting dissenting scientists
- Manipulation of evidence
- Knowingly publishing scientific fraud
- Suppression of evidence
- Abusing peer review
- Insulting critics
More details here.
A tempest in a teacup. It will all blow over in a few hundred years.
Clever, but there’s an obvious disanalogy: the findings of climate science have immediate and practical repercussions; any loss of public trust in the authenticity of the scientific consensus is potentially catastrophic. If any field of inquiry requires irreproachable honesty, it is this one.