The veneer of science


Concealing the truth
Radley Balko put this one up last week at The Agitator.

The problem goes back to the fact that forensics isn’t really science. With the notable exception of DNA testing, most fields in forensics were invented and developed by police agencies, not scientists. So they have evolved over time not to better seek out the truth, but to help law enforcement personnel prove a hunch or theory. Hence the general absence in most forensics of critical components to the scientific process like peer review and blind testing. The forensic evidence is then still presented to juries with all the gloss, polish, and impressive-sounding vernacular of hard science.

That last sentence with some minor changes could also apply to almost all the arguments that claim catastrophic global warming.

The evidence is then presented to (people) with all the gloss, polish,
and impressive-sounding vernacular of hard science.

I think Mr. Balko is on to something big here. I can't count how many arguments I've seen that are wrapped in the trappings of science without actually using science.

— NeoWayland

Posted: Mon - April 12, 2010 at 01:17 PM  Tag


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