The Need for Scientific Openness and Data Sharing in the Age of Trump

lterrat's bookmarks 2017-03-30

Summary:

"President Trump has made wild claims about climate change, despite reams of empirical evidence proving him wrong. He has also flirted with the false notion that vaccines cause autism in children. These assertions, in their brazen shamelessness, are a direct assault on the idea of carefully gathering data and drawing measured conclusions. As such they are an attack on empiricism itself.

In this context, practicing open science achieves two salutary purposes: defusing conspiracy theories about the aims of scientists by showing they have nothing to hide, and serving as a continuous defense of the virtues of empiricism.

But defending empiricism by practicing open science could amount to nothing more than a tweedy parlor game. Imagine a group of scientists discussing each other’s newly available data sets in low tones, with NPR burbling in the background and guests playing croquet on the lawn. Pleasant, yet pointless.

To have political impact, practicing open science must be accompanied by a willingness to discuss what it means with audiences of various scientific backgrounds. Trump’s attack on empiricism depends upon the longstanding GOP boogeyman of the arrogant scientist, eager to waste taxpayer dollars while researching pointless things. This caricature has potency because scientists, like members of any profession, tend to talk among themselves. Such insularity is a luxury they can no longer afford. Even if Trump’s draconian cuts for scientific research are walked back, as seems likely, this is a clear warning sign of what to expect in the future. Building a greater base of support for the value of science, among engaged taxpayers, is one way to stem the tide."

Link:

https://undark.org/article/age-trump-open-science-transparency-engagement/

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Open Access Tracking Project (OATP) » lterrat's bookmarks

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Date tagged:

03/30/2017, 18:38

Date published:

03/30/2017, 14:38