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Honesty is being put through the mill

Nature Physics volume 20, page 345 (2024)Cite this article

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Of course, some papers do little more than criticize, picking holes in previous arguments, or showing flaws in data analysis or a lack of full consideration of all possible interpretations. Such criticisms can sometimes be a little brutal, but these works are also ultimately positive — science depends on errors being challenged and ultimately corrected, even if this often takes some time and bruises some egos along the way. In this regard, Richard Feynman was correct in saying that in science, “we are trying to prove ourselves incorrect as quickly as possible”. Again, it requires honesty.

Some threats have come from organized and well-funded groups with political interests directly threatened by scientific information. No one can be unaware of the consistent efforts of the fossil fuel or tobacco industries over many years to spread doubts about the scientific consensus on climate change or the risks of smoking. Sadly, the consultants and public relations professionals behind these campaigns don't share the same norms of honesty as the scientific community. They're not trying to avoid spreading misleading information; quite the opposite.

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  1. Nature Physics https://www.nature.com/naturephysics

    Mark Buchanan

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Correspondence to Mark Buchanan.

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Buchanan, M. Honesty is being put through the mill. Nat. Phys. 20, 345 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41567-024-02430-2

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