THE BIAS OF SCIENCE
(Posted 2011-09-09 11:03:44 by ArchPaladin)

Don't let the lures of absolute truth lull you into a false sense of
security - we really don't know anything [
http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2010/11/lies-damned-lies-and-medical-science/8269/
] [theatlantic.com].

Ioannidis, the main researcher spoken about in this article, has a number
of studies out in the literature that I have read.  He punches some holes
in medical reporting that you could drive a truck through.  And not
surprisingly he attracts a lot of criticism.

But the article itself points out the central problem here.  Scientists
want to make an impact in their field.  And they have to do that by being
published, which means putting forth theories that they have a stake in and
do their best to prove correct.  And while the scientific method itself may
be built to withstand reporting biases, the output you get from that method
is only as good as what you put into it.  And our input is still from
broken humans.

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